BRINGING 

THE  GOSPEL 


HOGAN  AND  PUEBLO 


REV.  J.  DOLFIN 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


•ringing  tke  Gospel  in 
Hogan  and  Pueblo. 


The  Navaho 


Bringing  the  Gospel  in  Hogan 
and  Pueblo 


By 
REV.  J.  DOLFIN 

Pastor  of  the  Bethany  Christian  Reformed  Church 
Muskegon,  Michigan 


Memorial   Edition 


189  6 1  921 


GRAND  RAPIDS,  MICH. 

^e  VAN  NOORD  BOOK  AND 
PUBLISHING    COMPANY 

Five    Hundred    Thirteen    Eastern    Avenue 

1921 


Copyrighted  1921  by 

VAN  NOORD  BOOK  AND  PUBLISHING  CO. 
Grand  Rapids.  Mich. 


Print  of  Grand  Rapids  Printing:  Co., 

M.  Hoffius,  Prop. 
113  Campau  Ave  ,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 


It  is  my  pleasure  to  dedicate  this 
volume  to  my  wife,  whose  interest 
in  the  Indians  has  rivaled  my  own, 
and  who  has  in  many  ways  helped 
and  encouraged  me  to  persevere 
until  the  necessary  information  had 
been  collected  and  tabulated. 


Introduction 

I  GLADLY  WRITE  a  word  of  introduction  to  this  book 
of  the  Rev.  John  Dolfin.  Having  been  associated  with 
him  during  several  years  of  service  on  our  Mission  Board, 
his  companion  on  several  trips,  I  knew  that  he  was  well- 
posted  on  the  subject  of  Missions,  particularly  on  the 
work  among  the  Indians  of  the  Southwest  of  our  land, 
and  I  feel  sure  that  those  who  peruse  the  book  will  soon 
agree  with  me  on  the  matter.  What  Rev.  Dolfin  writes 
in  the  opening  chapters,  and  his  introduction  to  the  sev 
eral  contributions  of  the  workers,  as  well  as  the  closing 
chapters,  show  abundantly  that  the  author  possesses  a 
splendid  fund  of  information  on  the  subject.  What 
struck  me  in  perusing  the  MS.  was  the  spirit  of  apprecia 
tion  shown  in  regard  to  the  work  of  the  various  laborers. 
It  also  occurred  to  me  to  be  a  happy  thought  that  so 
many  of  our  workers  had  been  asked  to  furnish  a  con 
tribution.  No  one  can  describe  their  task  as  well  as  they 
themselves.  The  reader  will  also  observe  that  the  author 
has  given  wise  hints  here  and  there  about  desirable  im 
provements  as  to  methods  and  plans  of  work.  The  Shar- 
pened-Arrow-Heads  give  valuable  information  about  the 
work  of  Indian  Missions  in  its  broader  scope  and  in  its 
spiritual  aspects.  The  third  Chapter  gives  a  fine  back 
ground  to  the  book,  as  it  describes  the  surroundings  of 
Gallup,  N.  M.  Many  books  on  Missions  so  limit  them 
selves  to  the  work,  that  an  outsider  finds  it  hard  to  realize 
in  just  what  surroundings  the  labor  is  carried  on.  What 
is  told  about  the  Navahoes  and  Zunies  as  to  the  customs, 

9 


10  Introduction 

legends,  and  superstitions,  will  be  read  with  great  interest 
by  all  who  love  folklore  and  ethnology.  The  pictures 
shown  are  all  from  original  photos. 

The  entire  work  will  be  a  valuable  contribution  to 
the  cause  of  Missions  among  the  aborigines  of  our  land, 
and  be  appreciated  by  all  lovers  of  the  good  work.  For 
the  people  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  it  will 
simply  prove  to  be  invaluable,  being  the  first  extensive 
work  on  the  subject  in  the  English  language. 

Invoking.  God's  blessing  upon  this  effort, 

HENRY  BEETS. 


Preface 

IT  HAS  BEEN  our  desire  and  ambition  for  a  long  time 
to  impart  some  information  concerning  the  Navahoes 
and  Zunies,  two  tribes  of  Indians  among  whom  we  as  a 
Church  are  privileged  to  labor  in  the  Gospel  ministry, 
on  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  our  entering  upon  that 
work.  To  be  sure,  much  has  been  written  on  the  subject 
in  papers  and  magazines,  as  also  in  pamphlet  publica 
tions,  distributed  broadcast  among  our  people,  and  un 
doubtedly  more  has  been  told  in  missionary  sermons  and 
lectures  in  our  churches  and  at  Mission  Fests  thruout  our 
land,  by  those  particularly  interested  in  our  Indian  work, 
but,  after  all,  from  conversations  with  many  of  our 
people,  we  are  convinced  that  the  knowledge  concerning 
these  Indians  and  the  work  of  the  Lord,  among  them  is, 
in  many  respects,  erroneous  and  not  very  extensive,  to 
say  the  least.  That  there  is  not  only  room  for  a  book  of 
this  character  and  description,  but  also  a  great  need,  if 
our  people  thru  knowledge  are  going  to  be  interested  in 
the  cause  of  Indian  Missions,  goes  without  gainsaying. 
We  want  to  offer  it  as  a  Twenty-fifth  Anniversary 
Memorial,  with  the  hope  and  prayer  that  it  may  increase 
the  love  for  and  interest  in  our  Indian  work  where  it  al 
ready  exists  and  awaken  it  there  where,  because  of  sinful 
prejudice  or  unanswerable  antipathy,  it  is  not  found. 

We  appreciate  more  than  we  can  tell,  the  kindness 
and  willingness  of  our  busy  and  faithful  workers  on  the 
field  in  sending  us  their  articles  on  subjects  assigned.  We 
are  persuaded  that  these  Chapters,  written  by  those 

11 


12  I'rcface 

actively  and  personally  engaged  in  the  work,  will  be  read 
with  the  deepest  interest.  We  also  appreciate  the  kind 
ness  and  encouragement  given  by  different  brethren  with 
whom  we  consulted  from  time  to  time,  as  our  Secretary 
of  Missions,  Rev.  H.  Beets,  LL.D.,  and  the  Rev.  M.  Van 
Vessem,  who  showed  his  interest  in  many  ways,  but  espe 
cially  by  giving  us  some  of  the  illustrations  which  greatly 
enhance  the  value  of  the  book. 

We  confess,  the  gathering  of  the  information  con 
tained  in  the  following  chapters  has  been  a  great  pleasure 
and  a  most  interesting  work.  And  now  we  have  but  one 
desire,  and  that  is  that  also  this  work  may  redound  to  the 
glory  of  our  Lord  and  to  the  extension  of  His  cause 
among  the  many  Indians  within  and  without  our  land,  who 

are  still  groping  in  pagan  darkness. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS 


I.      The  Great  Commission 15 

II.      The  Christian  Reformed  Church  and  Missions 26 

III.  Gallup  and   Her  Scenic   Surroundings..... 34 

IV.  The  Navahoes 48 

A — Customs 76 

B — Legends  84 

C — Superstitions  88 

V.     Rehoboth,  New  Mexico 97 

Bringing  the  Gospel  to  the  Navaho  at  a  Mission 
Boarding  School,  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Brink, 
Missionary-Pastor  101 

VI.      Crown  Point,  New  Mexico 122 

Bringing  the  Gospel  to  the  Navahoes  at  a 
Government  School,  by  Rev.  Jacob  Bolt, 
Missionary  128 

VII.     A  Pioneer  Missionary  to  the  Navahoes 133 

Bringing  the  Gospel  to  the  Hogans,  by  Rev. 
L.  P.  Brink,  Missionary 140 

VIII.      Lay-workers  in  our  Indian  Mission  Service 161 

Camping  with  the  Navahoes,  by  Mr.  William 
Mierop,  Field  Missionary  at  Rehoboth,  N.  M.  167 

IX.      Tohatchi,  New  Mexico 188 

On  the  Trail  of  the  Navaho  in  and  Around 
Tohatchi,  by  Mr.  Mark  Bouma,  Missionary- 
in-Charge  at  Tohatchi,  N.  M 192 

13 


X.     Medical  Missions 209 

Medical   Work  Among   the   Navahoes,   by  Dr. 

J.  D.  Mulder,  Rehoboth,  N.  M '214 

XL     Educational   Missions 220 

Educational   Work   Among   the   Navahoes,   by 
Miss  Renzina  Stob,  Principal  at  the  Rehoboth 

School  226 

XII.     Industrial    Missions 233 

Industrial    Efforts    Among    the    Navahoes,    by 

Mr.  J.  H.  Bosscher,  Manager  at  Rehoboth 241 

XIII.  The  Navaho  Religion 250 

The  Religious  Views  of  the  Navahoes,  by  Rev. 

L.  P.  Brink,  Toadlena,  N.  M 252 

XIV.  The  Zunies 263 

A — Customs 289 

B — Legends  299 

C — Superstitions  304 

XV.     Entering  the  Zuni  Field 309 

The   Zuni  Mission,   by  vRev.    H.   Fryling,   Mis 
sionary  at  Zuni,  N.  M 315 

XVI.     Non-Reservation   Schools 342 

The      Religious      Work      at      Non-Reservation 
Schools,  by  Mr.  M.  Van  der  Beek,  Director 

of  Religious  Work 350 

XVII.     A  Word  in  Conclusion...                                              ,.  355 


They  Who  Have  Been  and  Who  are  Still  in  our 

Indian  Mission  Service 365 

Sharpened  Arrow-Heads 368 

Bibliography  ..  374 


14 


I. 

THE  GREAT  COMMISSION 

IT  WOULD  SEEM  out  of  place  to  us  to  offer 
you  a  book  on  Missions,  in  commemoration 
of  the  twenty-fifth  Anniversary  of  our  entering 
upon  the  work  among  the  dwellers  in  Hogan  and 
Pueblo,  without  an  opening  chapter  on  the  Great 
Commission.  The  importance  and  meaning  of 
this  Commission  cannot  well  be  over-estimated. 
Only  when  our  interest  in  and  our  concern  for 
the  evangelization  of  the  world  is  founded  upon 
the  Lord's  command,  shall  they  remain  both  firm 
and  steadfast  amidst  all  the  discouraging  feat 
ures  encountered  and  all  the  criticism,  by  ene 
mies  great  and  small,  met  with  in  the  Cause. 

The  Book  we  love,  because  it  speaks  to  us  of 
the  way  of  salvation  and  is  become  .to  us  the 
only  infallible  rule  and  measure  of  our  faith  and 
life,  is  the  same  Book  which  drives  the  Mission 
ary  forth  to  his  great  adventures,  and  remains 
his  constant  companion  on  all  his  wanderings. 
It  goes  without  gainsaying,  therefore,  that  for 
him  who  goes  to  the  field  and  for  us  who  remain 
at  home  to  hold  the  ropes,  that  Book  speaks  the 
biggest  word  for  Missions.  There  may  be 
many  and  various  appeals  inciting  to  missionary 
activity,  such  as:  the  present  great  opportuni 
ties  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  the  cry  of  races  and 

15 


16  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

of  nations,  the  fearful  sufferings  and  the  appall 
ing  needs  of  those  without  God,  without  Christ 
and  therefore  wdthout  hope  in  the  world,  but,  it 
has  been  well  said,  underneath  them  all  is  the 
great  diapason  of  the  Word:  "Go  ye;  I  am 
with  you." 

Remember,  first  of  all,  when  this  Command 
was  given!  Not  until  after  the  resurrection. 
Methinks,  this  tells  us  that  the  Master  fully 
realized  that  before  this  great  event  His  dis 
ciples  were  in  no  way  able  to  receive  it.  Their 
ideas  of  Him  and  of  His  Kingdom  were  so 
earthly  and  so  Jewish  that  they  certainly  would 
have  had  no  ears  for  or  interest  in  such  a  Com 
mission.  Moreover,  the  Lord  knew  that  many 
things  that  He  spoke  to  them  during  His  sojourn 
would  be  forgotten,  therefore  He  undertook  to 
give  His  Commission  under  such  impressive  and 
awe-inspiring  circumstances  that  it  would  be 
next  to  impossible  for  them  ever  to  lose  sight 
of  it. 

It  was  on  the  third  day  after  the  crucifixion, 
on  the  evening  of  the  day  of  resurrection,  the 
disciples  being  gathered  in  an  upper  room  be 
hind  barred  doors  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  that  they 
were  talking  together  about  what  had  taken 
place  upon  that  memorable  day.  Jesus,  the  be 
loved,  Whom  they  trusted  to  have  been  He 
which  should  have  redeemed  Israel,  had  been 
seen  alive  of  Mary  Magdalene  and  of  the  other 
women,  and  what  seemingly,  at  least,  persuaded 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO  17 

them  that  it  was  really  true  was  the  fact  that  He 
had  appeared  to  Simon,  and  now  the  two  dis 
ciples  from  Emmaus  also  enter  and  still  further 
confirm  the  truth  of  it  by  telling  of  their  experi 
ence.  Then,  suddenly,  without  a  bar  being 
withdrawn  or  a  door  being  unbolted,  Jesus  Him 
self,  stood  in  the  midst  of  them.  They  were 
filled  with  fear,  thinking  they  saw  a  spirit,  but 
He  soon  assuaged  their  fears  by  demonstrating 
His  identity,  showing  them  His  hands  and  His 
feet,  and  eating  before  them  a  piece  of  a  broiled 
fish  and  of  a  honey-comb.  Whatever  else  He 
may  have  said  to  them  on  this  never-to-be-for 
gotten  occasion,  His  command  concerning  mis 
sions  was  so  indelibly  impressed  upon  their 
hearts  that  when  the  evangelist  came  to  write  of 
this  visit,  that  was  uppermost  in  his  mind.  Again, 
some  time  later,  when  in  obedience  to  the  Mas 
ter's  own  instructions,  the  disciples  and,  accord 
ing  to  Paul,  five  hundred  others  assembled  on  a 
mountain  in  Galilee,  Jesus  appeared  and  once 
more,  of  all  that  was  said  and  spoken  by  Him, 
only  the  missionary  command  is  recorded.  But 
still,  this  is  not  all.  Alter  the  forty  days  had 
elapsed  since  the  resurrection,  He  gathered  His 
disciples  on  Mount  Olivet  and  before  ascending 
to  His  Father,  He  once  more  addressed  them  on 
this  subject,  saying:  "But  ye  shall  receive  power 
when  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you;  and  ye 
shall  be  My  witnesses  both  in  Jerusalem  and  in 
all  Judaea  and  Samaria  and  unto  the  uttermost 


18  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

parts  of  the  earth."  And  with  these  words  trem 
bling,  as  it  were,  upon  His  lips,  the  very  last  He 
ever  uttered  to  man  before  going  back  to  His 
Father,  He  was  received  up  into  the  heavens, 
and  a  cloud  hid  Him  from  mortal  view. 

Another  consideration  that  we  should  in  no 
wise  overlook  is  the  fact  that,  whereas  some 
things  that  Jesus  said,  are  spoken  of  by  one  or 
two  of  the  evangelists  and  passed  over  by  the 
others  in  silence,  the  Great  Commission  is  em 
phasized  not  only  by  all  the  four  Gospel  writers, 
Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John,  but  also  by 
Peter  and  Paul  in  their  letters  to  churches  and 
individuals.  Then,  when  we  remember  that 
these  Apostles  and  many  others  gave  their  very 
lives  in  obedience  to  this  Commission,  we  say, 
this  is  not  only  an  important  command,  but  the 
most  important  given  to  the  disciples  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  Why !  It  was 
for  that  to  which  this  command  looks  that  He 
gave  His  life  upon  the  bitter  and  accursed  Cross 
of  Calvary,  and  our  obedience^  to  it  shall  bear 
fruit  and  thus  verify  the  word  of  the  prophet  of 
ancient  days:  "He  shall  see  the  travail  of  His 
soul  and  shall  be  satisfied." 

Furthermore  is  the  supreme  importance  of 
this  command  accentuated  by  the  very  fact  that 
Christ's  three  years  of  active  ministry  and  teach 
ing  led  up  to  it.  We  know,  on  two  former  occa 
sions  He  formally  commissioned  His  disciples, 
once  the  twelve,  and  later  on  the  seventy.  These 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  19 

we  recognize  as  trial-missions,  limited  as  they 
were  both  to  area  and  to  objects,  Galilee  and  the 
lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.  In  both  cases 
the  instructions  may  be  called  the  lesser  commis 
sions  when  we  place  them  in  comparison  with 
the  Great  Commission  uttered  after  the  resur 
rection.  From  all  this  it  assuredly  should  be  felt 
and  realized,  should  it  not?  that  nothing  can  be 
more  binding  upon  the  heart  and  conscience  of 
a  follower  of  Christ  than  the  Great  Commis 
sion,  including  His  Home  and  Foreign  Mission 
command. 

Altho  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John  report 
substantially  the  great  commission,  nevertheless, 
to  understand  it  in  its  fullness  of  meaning  and 
significance,  we  should  place  these  four  accounts 
side  by  side  and  study  them  together. 

"And  Jesus  came  and  spake  unto  them,  say 
ing,  All  power  is  given  unto  Me  in  heaven  and 
in  earth.  Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations, 
baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  Teaching 
them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have 
commanded  you:  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  (Matthew  28: 
18-20.) 

"And  He  said  unto  them,  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature. 
He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved; 
but  he  that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned." 
(Mark  16:  15, 16.) 


20  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

"And  ye  are  witnesses  of  these  things.  And, 
behold,  I  send  the  promise  of  My  Father  upon 
you;  but  tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  until 
ye  be  endued  with  power  from  on  high."  (Luke 
24:48,  49.) 

"Then  said  Jesus  to  them  again,  Peace  be 
unto  you:  as  My  Father  hath  sent  Me,  even  so 
send  I  you.  And  when  He  had  said  this,  He 
breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive 
ye  the  Holy  Ghost:  Whose  soever  sins  ye  remit, 
they  are  remitted  unto  them;  and  whose  soever 
sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained."  (John  20: 
21-23.) 

First  of  all  we  should  view  each  one  of  these 
records  in  the  light  of  the  Gospel  in  which  it  is 
found.  As  the  stream  that  flowed  from  the  Gar 
den  of  Eden  was  parted  into  four  heads,  so  the 
story  of  the  life  and  teachings  of  Him  Who  de 
clared  Himself  to  be  the  water  of  life  comes  to 
us  thru  four  channels.  We  do  not  have  four 
Gospels,  but  one  Gospel  under  a  fourfold  as 
pect.  Even  so  we  do  not  have  four  commissions, 
but  one  commission  recorded  and  emphasized 
by  four  different  writers. 

By  Matthew  Jesus  Christ  is  presented  from 
the  Jewish  point  of  view,  showing  that  He  was 
the  promised  Messiah,  of  the  seed  of  Abraham 
and  thru  the  kingly  line  of  David.  The  King 
ship  of  Jesus  is  therefore  especially  revealed.  It 
is  the  Gospel  of  royal  authority,  and  conse 
quently  we  find  that  Matthew  in  recording  the 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO          21 

Great  Commission,  is  supremely  impressed  with 
Christ's  words  on  the  slopes  of  Mount  Olivet: 
"All  power  (authority)  is  given  unto  Me,"  etc. 
It  is  the  commission  of  the  King,  the  Law-giver. 
It  rings  with  the  note  of  authority.  Thus  it  also 
answers  to  the  first  need  of  the  world,  namely, 
authority.  The  voice  which  the  world,  especially 
today,  needs  to  hear  is  indeed  pre-eminently  the 
voice  of  authority,  and  authority,  in  the  matter 
of  moral  standards.  The  world  today,  if  it  needs 
anything,  it  needs  to  know  by  an  enunciation 
that  is  binding  and  authoritative,  what  sin  is. 
The  authority  of  Jesus,  the  Lordship  of  Christ, 
and  not  His  love  and  His  ability  to  save,  should, 
therefore,  be  the  first  note  of  Christian  preaching 
at  home  and  abroad.  We  must  return  to  the  old 
truth  that  no  man  can  enter  into  the  experience 
of  conversion  and  salvation  until  he  has  come  to 
conviction  of  his  sin  and  need,  and  that  convic 
tion  can  only  be  produced  by  an  authoritative 
moral  standard.  And  that  standard  is  provided 
by  Christ  Jesus  in  His  teaching  and  in  His  life. 

Mark's  purpose  was  to  present  Christ  to  the 
Romans,  and  for  that  reason  he  describes  Him  as 
the  mighty  worker,  the  faithful  "Servant  of  the 
Lord,"  the  One  Who  does  the  will  of  God  per 
fectly.  It  is  the  Gospel  of  activity,  being  crowded 
with  action,  with  deeds  rather  than  words.  Pre 
eminently  a  Gospel  for  this  rushing,  busy  age, 
which  certainly  may  be  described  as  being 
"driven"  rather  than  "led."  Continually  we  hear 


22  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

the  emphasis  laid  upon  the  fact  that  the  calling 
of  every  disciple  of  the  Lord  is  to  serve  and  not 
to  be  served.  Therefore,  the  Commission  as  pre 
sented  in  Mark  also  bears  the  form :  "Go  ye  into 
all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature."  The  disciples  are  to  go  into  the  whole 
world  and  preach  the  Gospel  not  merely  to  men 
and  women,  which  is,  of  course,  fundamental, 
but  thru  them  to  the  whole  creation.  For  thru 
the  renewed  man  the  whole  creation  is  affected 
and  redeemed  as  it  passes  under  the  dominion 
of  love.  Thus  we  find  the  answer  to  the  second 
need  of  the  world;  the  entering  into  creation 
that  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain;  thru  sacri 
ficial  service,  with  the  message  of  healing  and 
renewal. 

Luke  gives  us  the  Gospel  as  it  would  effect 
ively  appeal  to  the  Greeks,  who  idolized  human 
ity.  Christ  is  here  presented  in  the  largest  hu 
man  relations.  He  is  the  ideal  man,  the  perfec 
tion  of  mankind,  the  Son  of  man.  Consequently 
Luke  records  the  Commission:  "Ye  are  wit 
nesses  of  these  things.  .  .  .but  tarry  ye.  .  .  .until 
ye  be  clothed  with  power  from  on  high."  Christ, 
victorious  in  life  and  in  death,  must  be  made 
manifest  thru  His  victory  in  our  lives.  This 
answers  to  the  third  note  in  the  world's  need: 
the  consciousness  of  inability  to  realize  the 
highest,  to  do  the  noblest,  to  be  the  best;  by  de 
monstrating  Christ's  ability  not  only  in  His  own 
but  also  in  our  lives.  We,  who  by  nature  must 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  23 

confess:  "If  we  would  do  good,  evil  is  present/ 
must  now,  as  witnesses  of  Jesus'  power,  be  able 
to  say:  "We  can  do  all  things  in  Him  that 
strengtheneth  us."  Wherever  we  are,  in  home 
or  office,  in  shop  or  factory,  in  our  own  country 
or  abroad,  we  must  be  credentials,  demonstra 
tions,  samples  of  Christ,  answering  the  world's 
cry  of  inability  with  a  perpetual  song  of  ability. 

The  express  purpose  of  John  in  his  Gospel 
is  to  present  those  elements  of  Christ's  life 
which  tend  to  prove  the  Deity  of  the  Savior.  He 
is  equal  with  God,  one  with  God,  really  God. 
And  living  in  this  realization  of  the  Godhead  of 
Jesus,  the  Apostle  of  love  hears  the  mystic  words 
of  the  Great  Commission  that  the  others  failed 
to  chronicle,  probably  because  they  so  little  un 
derstood  their  meaning.  "As  the  Father  hath 

sent  Me,  even  so  send  I  you "  As  He  came 

into  the  world  to  reveal  and  make  known  the 
Father,  which  revelation  included  the  work 
whereby  sin  may  be  forgiven,  so  He  now  sends 
His  disciples  into  the  world  in  the  power  of  the 
accomplished  work  to  exercise  the  great  and 
holy  function  of  remitting  and  retaining  sins. 

Thus  the  Church  is  called  today  to  carry  out 
the  Great  Commission  in  the  spirit  of  the  Lord. 
It  is  in  reality  simply  entering  upon  and  continu 
ing  His  work,  which  is  summarized  in  Matthew 
in  these  words :  "Jesus  went  about  in  all  Galilee, 
teaching  in  their  synagogues,  and  preaching  the 
Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,  and  healing  all  manner 


24  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

of  disease  and  all  manner  of  sickness  among  the 
people."  Because  of  these  three  forms  of  activ 
ity  and  service,  Christ  is  known  as  the  Great 
Teacher,  the  Great  Physician,  and  the  Incom 
parable  Preacher.  Thorwaldsen's  piece  of 
sculpture  in  heroic  size,  representing  Christ  as 
the  "Divine  Healer,"  with  matchless  compassion 
upon  His  face,  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital,  in 
Baltimore,  is  a  benediction  to  the  suffering  hu 
manity  that  goes  there,  for  it  silently  but  strik 
ingly  reminds  it  of  the  Source  of  all  healing, 
life,  and  love. 

No  one  who  studies  the  present  world  situa 
tion  will  deny,  that  if  ever,  then,  today  the 
world  needs  the  message  of  Christ  and  His  ac 
complished  salvation.  In  the  midst  of  the  pres 
ent  universal  unrest,  there  is  nothing  that  can 
bring  calmness  and  peace  but  the  realization 
that  thru  Christ  we  are  reconciled  with  the  Sov 
ereign  God,  Who  holds  the  destinies  of  nations 
and  races  in  the  hollow  of  His  hand.  When  we 
read  how  there  is  a  tendency  at  the  present  time 
to  stress  the  cause  of  medical,  social,  and  indus 
trial  missions  instead  of  the  evangelistic,  we  are 
unable  to  quiet  the  voice  that  warns  us  of  the 
danger  of  substituting  "another  gospel"  for  the 
Gospel  of  Christ. 

We,  who  believe  in  the  sovereignty  of  God, 
and  in  the  responsibility  of  man,  should  not  we 
feel  as  if  in  the  situation  that  obtains  today  thru- 
out  the  world,  our  God,  too  long  denied,  is  sim- 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO          25 

ply  unsettling  mankind  in  order  that  He  may 
show  them  the  way  of  true  peace?  God,  the  Al 
mighty  and  All-wise,  has  a  program,  and  that 
program  is  being  carried  out.  This  world  is  not 
running  by  chance.  God's  power  is  sufficient  for 
all  things  and  His  love  is  forever  the  same.  It 
behooves  all  of  us,  therefore,  who  are  called  by 
the  name  of  His  Christ  and  profess  to  be  His 
children,  to  study  His  program,  to  submit  to  His 
guidance  and  to  co-operate  whole-heartedly  in 
His  plan  for  giving  the  whole  Gospel  to  the 
whole  world. 


26  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 


II. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH  AND 
MISSIONS 

1V/I  ANY  TIMES  we  have  been  told  both  by  men 
***  within  and  by  men  without  our  circle,  that 
the  Christian  Reformed  Church  is  lacking  in 
Mission  spirit.  Upon  closer  questioning  and  in 
vestigation  we  found  that  this  expression  of  criti 
cism  rested  especially  upon  two  things;  first,  the 
Christian  Reformed  Church  was  unreasonably 
and  most  unjustly  compared,  as  to  its  mission 
activities,  with  her  older  and  larger  sister  de 
nomination  known  as  the  Reformed  Church  of 
America,  and,  secondly,  all  home  work  was  dis 
counted  and  it  was  emphasized  that  there  was 
no  representative  of  ours  on  the  Foreign  field, 
in  other  words,  the  Christian  Reformed  Church 
did  not  take  part  in  the  great  cause  of  Foreign 
Missions.  The  lack  of  a  Mission  spirit  would 
very  naturally  cut  to  the  very  quick  any  true  son 
or  daughter  of  the  Church,  for  it  cannot  be  de 
nied,  a  non-missionary  Church  has  no  right  of 
existence,  and  according  to  an  inexorable  law 
it  must  languish  and  ultimately  die.  It  would 
not  be  difficult  at  all  to  give  examples  of  this 
from  the  history  of  the  Church  thruout  the  ages. 
Oh!  that  critics  might  fully  understand  that  to 
ascribe  the  lack  of  Mission  spirit  to  a  Church  is 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO          27 

to  doom  that  Church  to  death.  And,  oh !  that  the 
members  of  a  Church  might  fully  understand 
that  the  very  life  of  a  Church,  as  well  as  the  life 
of  every  individual  Christian,  exists  in  its  mis 
sionary  activities.  The  Christian  faith  as  repre 
sented  in  and  by  a  Church  simply  must  propagate 
itself  or  die  a  dishonorable  death.  May  there, 
therefore,  be  a  continual  increase  in  our  conse 
cration  to  and  in  our  prayers  and  gifts  for  the 
cause  which  is  the  business  of  the  Church.  For 
well  hath  it  been  said,  "Missions  is  not  a  part  of 
the  benevolence  but  the  business  of  the  Church." 

But  to  return  to  the  criticism  mentioned  above. 
We  set  ourselves  to  investigate  the  two  facts 
upon  which  it  rests.  We  congratulate  our  sister 
Church  upon  her  splendid  activities  in  China, 
India,  Japan,  and  Arabia.  We  always  read  with 
intense  interest  and  delight  the  magazines  and 
pamphlets  which  tell  us  of  this  work.  The 
names  of  Zwemer,  Chamberlain,  Pieters  and 
Warnshuis,  to  mention  no  others,  are  as  dear  to 
us,  for  their  work's  sake,  as  they  can  possibly 
be  to  any  member  of  the  Church  which  they  rep 
resent.  Probably  because  of  the  bands  of  the 
Reformed  faith  and  of  nationality  we  feel  closely 
akin  to  them,  and  with  our  sister  Church  we  are 
proud,  with  a  holy  pride,  of  their  endeavors  and 
splendid  achievements  on  the  Foreign  fields 
mentioned.  This  Church,  which  has  by  the  grace 
of  God,  given  such  valuable  men  to  the  cause; 
this  Church,  which  manifests  such  a  laudable 


28  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

zeal  for  Missions  at  home  and  abroad;  this 
Church,  was  not  ever  thus.  Let  us  not  forget 
nor  overlook  that.  Just  recently  in  perusing  the 
history  of  this  Church  by  one  of  its  honored 
fathers,  the  Rev.  N.  H.  Dosker,  we  found  in  one 
of  the  chapters  a  defense  of  the  Church  against 
this  same  criticism.  Then  it  was  hurled  at  them, 
as  now  it  is  applied  to  us.  And  his  defense  is 
along  the  same  lines  that  we  would  follow  if  we 
were  going  to  offer  a  defense.  The  church  at 
home  must  first  be  strong  and  continually  be 
come  stronger  if  it  is  going  to  have  and  ade 
quately  support  an  ever-increasing  work  on  the 
Foreign  field.  We  have  ample  faith  to  believe 
that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  our  Foreign 
work,  comparatively  speaking,  is  going  to  be 
second  to  none,  either  in  the  number  and  calibre 
of  the  men  and  women  sent  forth,  or  in  the 
financial  support  by  which  they  are  backed  up 
at  home.  The  history  of  our  Church  in  its  reve 
lation  and  record  of  the  Mission  spirit  among  us, 
and  our  personal  faith  in  the  constituency  of  our 
churches,  fills  us  with  a  glowing  hope  for  the 
future.  And  it  is  just  because  of  this  that  we  cast 
far  from  us  the  criticism  that  the  Christian  Re 
formed  Church  is  lacking  in  Missionary  spirit. 

To  the  lasting  honor  of  our  fathers  it  must 
be  said  that  already  at  the  second  Classical  meet 
ing,  held  in  the  year  of  the  birth  of  our  Church, 
1857,  the  cause  of  Missions  was  a  matter  of  dis 
cussion,  and  it  was  decided  that  on  the  first 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  29 

Monday  of  each  month  a  prayer-meeting  should 
be  held,  and  that  at  these  meetings  an  offering 
should  be  made  for  Bible  distribution.  Would 
to  God  that  this  decision  of  the  fathers  might  be 
revived  today  and  lived  up  to.  What  an  inspira 
tion,  encouragement,  and  incentive  it  would  be 
to  our  representatives  on  the  Home  and  Foreign 
fields  to  know  that  regularly,  once  a  month,  on 
the  same  evening,  in  every  Christian  Reformed 
church  they  and  their  work  were  being  carried 
in  united  prayer  to  the  Throne  above,  whence 
cometh  all  our  help  and  every  blessing.  Having 
no  Foreign  work  of  their  own,  our  fathers  de 
cided  to  send  their  offerings  to  the  churches  of 
the  Netherlands  to  assist  them  in  their  work,  but 
such  a  second-hand  activity  could  not  inspire 
and  enthuse,  and  consequently  languished  and 
died.  Other  efforts  to  collect  moneys  without  a 
definite  purpose  were  also,  and  that  very  natur 
ally,  more  or  less  a  failure. 

During  this  time,  however,  the  work  of 
church  extension  at  home  was  prosecuted  with 
great  zeal.  These  men  of  old  did  not  spare 
themselves  to  visit  unchurched  communities 
and  when-  and  wherever  possible  establish 
churches  of  the  same  faith  as  their  own.  They 
were  not  concerned  about  financial  remunera 
tion  for  their  efforts,  but  their  love  for  the  cause 
gave  them  courage-  and  readiness  to  bear  the 
heat  of  the  day  and  the  cold  of  night  in  the  work 
of  the  Lord.  We  younger  men,  who  to  a  great 


30  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

extent  have  entered  upon  what  they  have 
wrought,  should  ever  remember  this,  and  at  our 
church  meetings  \ve  should  show  deference  to 
the  few  old  veterans  still  abiding  with  us.  The 
long  list  of  Home  Missionaries,  from  the  begin 
ning  of  our  church-life  unto  the  present  day, 
testifies  to  the  spirit  of  sacrifice  and  love.  Due 
to  the  strengthening  and  extension  of  the  home 
church  by  the  blessings  of  the  Lord  thru  these 
Mission  activities,  the  desire  was  awakened 
more  and  more  to  cast  the  Gospel  net  also  into 
the  deep  darkness  of  the  Heathen  world,  and  to 
sow  the  seed  of  the  Word  in  virgin  soil.  But 
whither  shall  wre  go,  and  to  whom  shall  we  first 
extend  the  invitation? 

Behold!  That  question  employed  the  thoughts 
of  many  minds  for  many  years.  There  was  so 
little  unanimity  of  thought  on  that  question  that 
it  verily  seemed  that  every  leader  had  his  own 
particular  choice  of  field  or  work.  One  desired 
to  co-operate  with  the  churches  of  the  Nether 
lands  in  their  Missions  on  Java;  another  sup 
ported  the  idea  of  an  own  Mission  on  foreign 
shores;  a  third  favored  the  supporting  of  Mis 
sions  already  established  by  churches  of  like 
faith  and  polity;  still  another,  to  mention  no 
more,  wanted  to  labor  among  the  Negroes  in 
our  own  Southland.  In  1886,  however,  unex 
pectedly  and  to  the  surprise  of  many,  the  atten 
tion  of  the  Church  was  directed  to  the  Aborigines 
of  our  own  beloved  United  States.  It  seemed  to 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  31 

thrill  the  hearts  of  the  majority,  "we  need  not 
go  afar,  we  have  the  heathen  at  our  very  door 
Who  have  never  heard  of  the  blessed  name  of 
Jesus,  and  the  big  Churches  of  our  land  engaged 
extensively  on  foreign  shores,  are  forgetting 
those  at  home,  living  in  the  same  dense  darkness 
of  superstition  and  idolatry."  And  then,  what 
added  zest  to  the  appeal  to  bring  the  glad  tid 
ings  of  salvation  to  the  Red  Men  was  the  con 
scious  national  responsibility  of  being  especially 
indebted  to  them  because  we  were  occupying 
and  holding  as  our  own  their  former  homes  and 
hunting  grounds.  For  the  material  we  would 
return  the  spiritual! 

After  having  supported  the  Rev.  J.  Kruidenier, 
missionary  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Egypt,  to  the  extent  of  $400.00  annually,  it  was 
decided  for  the  present  to  limit  our  activities  to 
the  Indians  or  Negroes  of  our  own  land.  When 
a  couple  of  unheeded  calls  had  been  extended  to 
ministers  of  our  Church,  to  the  joy  of  the  com 
mittee  charged  with  the  regulation  and  oversight 
of  the  work,  the  Rev.  T.  M.  Van  den  Bosch  of 
fered  himself  as  Missionary.  Things  were  still 
very  indefinite,  however,  even  when  installed  it 
was  not  sure  whether  his  field  would  be  in  Okla 
homa  or  Indian  Territory,  or  whether  he  would 
labor  among  the  Indians  or  Negroes.  Because  of 
discouraging  reports  from  the  Indian  Territory 
it  was  deemed  best  to  send  him  to  the  Rosebud 
Agency  in  the  Dakotas,  but  he  was  left  to  blaze 


32  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

the  trail  for  himself.  He  was  set  aside  for  this 
work  on  the  23rd  of  October,  1889,  and  immedi 
ately  set  forth.  Meeting  with  many  and  various 
disappointments  in  trying  to  start  a  work  among 
the  great  Sioux  tribe  of  Dakota,  receiving  word 
that  there  was  no  opening  for  him  in  Oklahoma, 
and  considering  the  Winnebago  tribe  in  Ne 
braska  amply  provided  for,  he  lost  all  heart  and 
courage,  therefore,  upon  his  request  in  Septem 
ber,  1890,  less  than  one  year  after  he  went  out, 
he  received  his  discharge  as  Missionary  to  the 
Heathen.  This  failure,  however  distressing  to 
the  lovers  of  a  Mission  to  the  Indians,  was  not 
sufficient  to  dampen  their  ardor.  They  contin 
ued  to  foster  the  interest  already  awakened,  and 
they  did  not  cease  to  labor  in  the  hope  of  some 
day  realizing  their  desire.  In  the  meantime 
work  among  our  own  scattered  people  and 
among  the  Jews  was  prosecuted  with  laudable 
zeal. 

In  1896  it  was  definitely  determined  to  enter 
the  Navaho  Reservation  and  begin  the  work  at 
Fort  Defiance,  Arizona.  On  the  1st  of  October, 
1896,  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Herman  Fry  ling,  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Andrew  Van  der  Wagen,  bade  f  are- 
well  to  their  many  friends  and  relatives  and  went 
forth  to  this  new  undertaking  with  the  hearty 
good  wishes  and  prayers  of  a  whole  Church  ac 
companying  them.  This  is  the  work  which  we 
are  now  commemorating  upon  its  twenty-fifth 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO  33 

anniversary,  and  concerning  which  we  are  to 
read  more  in  the  following  chapters. 

The  Mission  work  of  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church,  however,  is  no  longer  limited  to  this 
one  activity.  In  addition  to  a  continually  in 
creasing  interest  to  establish  churches  among 
our  own  people  living  in  isolated  districts  of  our 
land,  work  is  carried  on  at  Chicago,  111.,  and  at 
Paterson,  N.  J.,  among  the  Jews;  at  Hoboken, 
N.  J.,  there  is  a  representative  who  extends  a 
hand  of  welcome  and  assistance  in  the  name  of 
our  Church  to  emigrants  coming  from  the  Neth 
erlands;  in  various  cities  the  work  known  as  Res 
cue  Missions  is  being  prosecuted;  attempts  have 
been  made  again  and  again  to  reach  the  Mor 
mons  of  Utah;  financial  support  is  given  to  the 
work  in  the  Dutch  colonies  of  South  America; 
and  in  China,  with  its  teeming  millions,  there 
are  at  present  three  of  our  men  seeking  to  lo 
cate  and  establish  a  Mission  that  will  be  able  to 
absorb  for  some  years  to  come  the  recruits  of 
our  Volunteer  Band  at  Calvin  College  and  Sem 
inary,  located  at  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan. 

May  the  interest  of  our  beloved  Christian  Re 
formed  Church  in  the  great  cause  of  Missions  at 
home  and  abroad  never  wane,  but  ever  increase, 
and  may  the  day  dawn  when  our  sons  and 
daughters  shall  be  found  as  Messengers  of  the 
Gospel  and  Ambassadors  of  the  King  in  every 
land  of  the  world. 


34  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 


III. 
GALLUP  AND  HER  SCENIC  SURROUNDINGS 

GALLUP,  N.  M.,  with  a  present  population  of 
four  thousand,  is  the  railroad  center  of  our 
Mission  in  the  Southwest.  Here  the  Missionaries, 
not  only  from  Rehoboth,  which  is  only  about  five 
miles  away,  but  from  all  our  inland  stations, 
come  to  do  their  banking  and  trading.  There 
fore  we  thought  it  would  not  be  uninteresting  to 
our  readers  if  we  gave  them  a  chapter  on  the 
above  subject.  Forty  years  ago  no  one  could 
have  foreseen  that  here,  where  at  that  time  no 
human  habitation,  either  white  or  Indian,  dotted 
the  landscape,  there  would  arise  one  of  the 
busiest  and  liveliest  towns  in  the  State  of  New 
Mexico.  It  derived  its  name  from  a  Bostonian, 
D.  L.  Gallup,  who  was  in  charge  of  one  of  the 
numerous  construction  camps  when  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  Railroad,  now  the  Atchison,  Topeka 
&  Santa  Fe,  was  laid  thru  that  territory.  Mr. 
Gallup  being  the  official  paymaster,  it  became  a 
custom  with  the  men  when  they  wanted  their 
pay  to  say,  "Going  to  Gallup's."  Thus  the  name 
became  fixed  to  that  locality,  only  the  possessive 
form  of  it  was  dropped.  At  every  Mission  Sta 
tion  of  our  Church  today  we  hear  them  speaking 
about  going  to  Gallup. 

It  was  not  so  much  the  railroad,  however,  as 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  35 

the  opening  of  the  coal  mines  in  this  district,  that 
really  put  Gallup  on  the  map,  and  designated 
her  "The  Carbon  City."  The  largest  mines  are 
found  at  Gibson  and  Allison,  while  within  one 
mile  of  Gallup  there  are  at  least  four  smaller 
ones  in  operation.  Altogether  they  employ  more 
than  2,000  men  and  carry  a  monthly  payroll  ex 
ceeding  $75,000,  the  great  bulk  of  which  is  spent 
right  there.  In  addition  to  this  source  of  income, 
the  town  has  an  exceedingly  extensive  wholesale 
business,  for  the  Indian  traders  from  a  radius  of 
a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  come  to  Gallup  to  buy 
the  necessary  provisions  and  bring  in  the  wool 
and  Navaho  blankets  obtained  from  the  Indians 
in  exchange  for  their  merchandise.  Nor  should 
we  fail  to  mention  as  a  third  asset  of  Gallup  that 
she  is  today  one  of  the  regular  division  points 
of  this  great  transcontinental  railroad,  and  con 
sequently  supplies  a  great  deal  of  work  for  the 
community.  And  last  but  not  least,  she  is  a 
shipping-point  for  the  stock  raisers  of  the  whole 
region,  hundreds  of  carloads  of  sheep  alone  are 
shipped  from  this  point  annually. 

In  1900  Gallup  became  the  county  seat  of  the 
new  county  called  McKinley;  prior  to  this  date 
she  was  a  part  of  Bernallilo  County,  of  which 
Albuquerque  is  the  county  seat.  Realizing  that 
the  distance  between  Albuquerque  and  Gallup  is 
156  miles,  it  is  easily  understood  that  there  was  a 
desire  for  a  separate  county.  In  the  first  years 
Gallup  did  not  grow  very  rapidly,  and  was  a 


36  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

real,  typical,  pioneer  western  town,  altho  she 
was  singularly  free  from  violence  or  events  of  a 
tragic  nature.  To  be  sure,  there  were  occasion 
ally  Indian  scares,  and  these  scares  might  have 
more  frequently  resulted  in  tragedies  had  it  not 
been  for  the  presence  of  U.  S.  soldiers  at  Fort 
Wingate,  who  held  the  war-like  tendencies  of 
the  Indians  in  check. 

The  Methodist  Church  was  the  first  to  look  af 
ter  the  religious  and  spiritual  interests  of  the  citi 
zens.  In  1888  this  Church  affected  an  organiza 
tion  and  erected  its  first  building.  They  were 
followed  in  turn  by  the  Roman  Catholics,  Epis 
copalians,  and  Congregationalists.  Another 
phase  of  the  City's  life  may  not  be  overlooked. 
With  the  operation  of  the  mines,  citizens  from 
all  over  the  world  came  hither,  and  Gallup,  altho 
but  a  small  town,  was  nevertheless  of  a  very  cos 
mopolitan  character.  There  is  probably  no  other 
city  in  our  whole  country  of  the  size  of  Gallup 
where  so  many  and  strange  languages  are  used. 
We  find  among  others,  that  the  English  (includ 
ing  Welsh,  Cornish,  Scotch,  Irish,  and  Negro), 
Croatian,  Montenegrin,  Belgian,  Polish,  Hungar 
ian  (Maygar),  Holland,  Norwegian,  German, 
Slavish,  Greek,  French,  Russian,  Roumanian, 
Swiss,  Swedish,  Serbian,  Italian,  Sicilian,  Japan 
ese,  Spanish  (Mexican),  Bulgarian,  Danish,  and 
the  Indian  (Navaho,  Zuni,  Hopi)  are  represented. 

It  has  been  said,  and  that  truthfully,  the  South 
west  is  rich  in  mystery  and  history,  in  natural 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  37 

scenery  and  in  the  ruins  of  perished  civilization. 
And  no  part  of  the  great-  Southwest  has  these 
things  in  greater  abundance  and  variety  than  the 
region  contiguous  and  tributary  to  Gallup.  It 
has  been  admitted  by  travelers  of  experience 
that  in  no  similar  area  of  America  are  there  so 
many  attractions  to  be  found  as  in  a  radius  of  a 
hundred  miles,  with  Gallup  as  the  central  point. 
We  invite  you  to  accompany  us  on  a  sight-see 
ing  tour  of  this  region  and  be  convinced. 

After  driving  forty  miles  to  the  south  thru  a 
continual  change  of  scenery,  wdde  extensive  sec 
tions  of  desert  waste,  beautiful  and  stately  pine 
forest  reserves,  past  typical  Indian  trading-posts 
and  the  well-known  Z.  I.  ranch,  we  come  to  our 
first  stop  at  Zuni,  one  of  the  Seven  Cities  of  Ci- 
bola  and  concerning  whose  inhabitants,  num 
bering  about  1,800,  you  are  to  read  in  other 
chapters  of  this  book.  The  present  Zuni  village 
is  probably  not  more  than  three  centuries  old. 
In  former  times  this  tribe,  of  a  peaceful  nature, 
had  to  seek  refuge  and  protection  from  their 
enemies  on  some  high  point  or  peak  where  they 
built  their  habitations  and  lived  until  such  a 
time  that  it  wras  again  safe  to  dwell  in  the  valleys. 
Thus  from  Zuni,  in  the  distance,  we  see  Mount 
Taaiyalone  at  the  base  of  which  the  first  battle 
between  the  Spaniards  and  the  Indians  took 
place  in  July,  1540.  Zuni  itself  is  noted  for  its 
marvelous  Pueblo  Pyramid  house,  from  the 
highest  point  of  which  the  daily  news  is  an- 


38  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

nounced  by  an  official  Zuni  Crier.  A  little  to  the 
southwest  of  the  village  we  also  find  an  interest 
ing  spot  known  as  the  "He'patina,"  designating 
what  the  Zunies  claim  to  be  the  central  point  of 
the  earth.  The  shrine  marking  this  spot  is  built 
up  of  stones,  and  within  the  enclosure  are  found 
the  remains  of  offerings  made  by  the  believers 
out  of  appreciation  for  the  favor  that  they,  of  all 
nations,  may  reside  the  nearest  to  the  Middle  of 
the  World.  Prayer-plumes  in  great  abundance 
are  also  found  all  about  the  spot,  silently  testify 
ing  to  the  intense  religious  nature  of  this  people. 
We  cannot  stop  now  to  speak  about  the  Zunies 
themselves;  that  will  be  found  in  a  subsequent 
chapter.  Above  the  Zuni  village,  about  four 
miles,  is  Blackrock,  where  we  find  the  headquar 
ters  of  the  U.  S.  Government  Agency  and  a 
boarding-school  for  the  education  of  the  older 
Zuni  boys  and  girls.  Here  also  is  located  a  Gov 
ernment  dam  which  cost  approximately  a  half 
million  dollars.  The  Zunies,  a  farming  people, 
have  learned  to  irrigate  their  lands  from  the 
water  here  impounded.  Not  far  from  the  vil 
lage  we  also  see,  rising  about  1,200  feet  above 
the  valley,  Thunder  Mountain  on  the  top  of 
which  are  ruins  of  an  ancient  and  extinct  race. 

Resuming  our  trip  from  Zuni  we  find  near 
Ramah,  Inscription  Rock, — the  Stone  Autograph 
Album,  known  in  Spanish  as  "El  Morro,"  the 
Castle.  It  is  a  noble  triangular  block  of  sand 
stone,  of  pearly  whitish  color,  with  sheer  walls 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO  39 

over  two  hundred  feet  high,  and  suggesting  in 
its  stupendous  grandeur  a  temple  or  castle  built 
after  the  style  of  the  Egyptians,  only  immeas 
urably  larger.  The  walls  are  seamed  and 
marked  with  the  storms  and  conflicts  of  many 
centuries,  but  the  rock  is  of  such  a  peculiar  char 
acter  that  it  does  not  crumble  when  exposed  to 
the  weather.  Therefore  the  inscriptions  found 
on  two  sides  of  the  rock  remain  almost  as  clear 
and  as  perfect  as  the  day  they  were  written. 
One  inscription  reads :  "On  the  28th  day  of  Sep 
tember  of  1737,  reached  here  the  most  illustrious 
Senor  Doctor  Don  Martin  De  Elizaec  ochea, 
Bishop  of  Durango,  and  on  the  29th  passed  on  to 
Zuni."  A  second  one,  being  interpreted,  says: 
"They  passed  on  the  23rd  of  March  of  the  year 
1632  to  the  avenging  of  the  death  of  Father  Le- 
trado-Lujan."  However  interesting  these  rock 
autographs  are,  El  Morro  attracts  our  attention 
in  another  way.  We  find  by  walking  along  the 
east  wall,  that  it  is  possible  to  scale  the  rugged 
slope  of  the  Castle.  To  our  surprise  we  discover 
that  it  is  practically  split  in  half  by  a  narrow 
canyon,  in  the  center  of  which  grows  a  tall  pine. 
This  canyon  seems  literally  scooped  out  of  the 
solid  rock,  and  is  large  enough  to  hide  a  whole 
army  if  they  observed  a  discreet  silence. 
Perched  on  the  highest  summit  of  the  two  sides 
of  the  rock  thus  divided  by  this  canyon,  are  the 
ruins  of  two  very  interesting  pre-historic  villages. 
Is  it  any  wonder,  therefore,  that  this  rock  has 


40  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

been  considered  of  so  great  importance  by  our 
Government  that  by  Presidential  Proclamation 
it  has  been  made  a  National  Monument? 

Other  famous  rocks  of  this  wonderland,  but 
not  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Inscription  Rock, 
are:  (1)  The  Navaho  Church  Rock,  a  rock 
carved  by  the  teeth  of  time  and  weather  into 
resembling  a  church  with  many  spires.  It  is  in 
plain  view  from  our  Rehoboth  Mission.  Not  far 
from  this  rock  we  find  the  famous  Kit  Carson's 
Cave  and  many  other  caves  and  canyons  that 
simply  defy  description.  They  must  be  seen  to 
be  appreciated.  (2)  Shiprock,  or  also  called 
Winged  Rock,  may  be  seen,  on  a  clear  day,  from 
our  Toadlena  Mission.  From  this  distance  it  ap 
pears  as  a  great  ship  serenely  sailing  on  its  way, 
but  from  nearby  it  resembles  a  large  bird  with 
outstretched  wings.  (3)  Kit  Carson's  Monument, 
three  miles  from  Fort  Defiance,  is  a  most  singu 
lar  looking  natural  boulder  about  forty  feet  high, 
standing  forth  all  by  itself  in  the  desert.  At  a 
distance  it  resembles  a  great  statue,  but  viewed 
from  nearby  it  looks  like  a  huge  vase.  (4)  The 
Haystacks.  These  are  great  boulders  eroded  by 
time  and  storm  into  the  shape  of  stacks  of  hay. 
Close  by  we  also  discern  what  is  known  as  the 
Natural  Window.  These  are  found  about 
twenty  miles  from  Gallup  on  the  way  to  Fort 
Defiance.  In  this  vicinity,  we  are  informed,  Kit 
Carson,  famous  in  the  history  of  the  Southwest, 
fought  and  defeated  the  Apaches. 


Entrance    to    the    famous    Kit    Carson's    Cave. 


42  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Having  now  spoken  of  the  most  famous  rocks, 
we  desire  to  pay  a  visit  to  some  of  the  Canyons 
of  this  region.  In  the  vicinity  of  Chin  Lee,  ap 
proximately  sixty-five  miles  from  Fort  Defiance, 
we  find  the  famous  Canyon  de  Chelly  (pro 
nounced  de  Shay)  on  the  right,  and  on  the  left 
Canyon  del  Muerto  (the  Canyon  of  death),  so 
named  because  of  the  massacre  of  a  band  of 
Navahoes  by  the  Spaniards  under  the  leader 
ship  of  Lieutenant  Narbone  during  the  winter  of 
1804-'05.  This  canyon  is  twenty  miles  long,  and 
like  its  neighbor  to  the  right,  is  also  rich  in  cliff- 
dwellings  and  other  interesting  features. 

These  canyons,  in  their  beauty  and  grandeur, 
simply  surpass  the  descriptive  power  of  pen  or 
brush.  From  the  mouth  of  the  Canyon  de  Chelly 
to  its  head,  marked  by  El  Capitan,  is  at  least 
twenty-five  miles.  El  Capitan  is  an  enormous 
monolith  of  deep  red  rock,  fifteen  hundred  feet 
in  height,  erected  by  the  Great  Creator  to  mark 
this  Canyon  one  of  His  greatest  and  most  mag 
nificent  works  in  the  realm  of  nature.  Practi 
cally  unknown  to  the  American  tourist,  Canyon 
de  Chelly  is  doubtless  one  of  the  greatest  scenic 
wonders  of  the  American  Continent.  Altho  ab 
sorbingly  interesting,  it  is  not  possible  to  speak 
of  all  that  is  to  be  seen  in  this  canyon.  We  will, 
therefore,  as  it  were,  just  mention  the  various 
attractions  in  passing.  Located  in  this  canyon 
is  La  Casa  Blanca,  or  the  White  House,  the  most 
noteworthy  of  the  cliff-dwellings,  of  which  there 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO          43 

are  many  in  this  canyon.  It  nestles  so  snugly  in 
a  crevice  high  in  the  canyon  wall,  and  is  so  per 
fectly  protected  by  the  overhanging  cliffs,  that 
today  it  still  appears  as  if  it  might  have  been 
built  but  yesterday.  The  other  notable  ruins 
are:  Antelope,  Standing  Cow,  Sentinel,  and 
Mummy  Gave  in  Canyon  Del  Muerto.  Mummy 
Cave  ruin  derives  its  name  from  the  fact  that  in 
1882,  a  party  under  the  direction  of  Colonel 
James  Stevenson  explored  this  ruin  for  the  Bu 
reau  of  Ethnology  and  found  two  mummies  or 
well-preserved  bodies  in  it.  These  canyons,  es 
pecially  Canyon  de  Chelly,  were  always  consid 
ered  by  the  U.  S.  military  authorities  as  Navaho 
strongholds,  and  therefore  all  expeditions  sent 
out  against  the  Navahoes  have  had  these  can 
yons  for  their  objective,  for  here  the  Navaho 
sought  refuge  and  shelter  against  all  invaders 
of  his  territory. 

Breaking  away,  as  it  were,  from  this  wondes- 
spot  in  Navaho  land,  we  proceed  fifty  miles 
thru  this  country  of  magnificent  distances,  every 
mile  of  which  holds  something  interesting  and 
attractive,  and  we  come  to  Ream's  Canyon,  a 
joint  agency  for  the  Moqui  and  Navaho  Indians. 
Just  thirteen  miles  beyond  this  point,  situated 
on  the  first  mesa,  we  find  Wallapi,  a  Moqui  vil 
lage.  We  stop  here  for  a  moment  because  it  re 
minds  us  of  the  great  Moqui  snake  dance,  a 
prayer  for  rain,  which  takes  place  during  the 
latter  part  of  August  each  year,  and  is  reputed 


44  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

to  be  the  most  barbarous  ceremony  ever  partici 
pated  in  by  human  beings.  Among  the  many 
distingished  people  who  have  been  witnesses  of 
this  dance  is  the  late  Col.  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

Traveling  twenty-two  miles  further  we  come 
to  Oraibi,  situated  on  the  edge  of  what  is  popu 
larly  called  "The  Painted  Desert."  It  is  thought 
by  some  that  this  desert  was  at  one  time  the  bed 
of  a  sea  or  a  vast  inland  lake.  Continuing  our 
journey  for  some  eighty-five  miles  across  this 
"Painted  Desert,"  we  stand  on  the  rim  of  the 
Grand  Canyon  of  Colorado.  Truly  and  beauti 
fully  has  it  been  said :  "This  Titan  of  Chasms  is 
the  climax  of  scenic  wonders,  and  one  can  only 
stand  in  speechless  awe  in  the  presence  of  its  in 
comparable  grandeur.  Upon  the  earth's  surface 
there  is  nothing  to  parallel  it." 

Not  alone,  however,  is  this  region,  the  wonders 
of  which  we  have  been  attempting  to  describe, 
interesting  from  a  scenic  standpoint,  but  it  is 
also  unsurpassed  by  anything  in  the  United 
States  from  the  standpoint  of  ethnology  and 
archaeology.  Here,  indeed,  the  scientist  finds 
archaeology  alive.  Therefore  ethnologists  and 
achaeologists  have  found  here  a  rich  treasure- 
house  as  well  as  a  veritable  paradise  for  their 
endeavors.  No  wonder  that  our  Government  has 
commissioned  and  financed  expedition  after  ex 
pedition  to  explore  these  regions.  The  findings 
of  these  -exploration  parties  fill  volumes,  and 
what  we  know  of  these  native  peoples  today  we 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  45 

owe,  to  a  great  extent,  to  their  consecrated  ef 
forts.  We  can  only  touch  upon  what  has  been 
done  in  the  line  of  mapping,  excavating,  and  de 
scribing  ,the  ruins  of  the  Southwest,  but  anyone 
particularly  interested  may  continue  the  study 
for  himself. 

In  1876  W.  H.  Holmes  of  the  School  of  Ameri 
can  Archaeology  wandered  over  the  Navaho  Res 
ervation  and  noted  the  pre-historic  sites  and  re 
ported  on  them.  After  him  came  many  noted 
scientists,  Louis  H.  Morgan,  G.  Nordenskijold, 
Cosmos  Mindeliff,  Adolph  Bandelier,  Edgar  L. 
Hewett,  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes,  F.  W.  Hodge,  and 
many,  many  others,  too  numerous  even  to  men 
tion  by  name.  All  of  these  have  written  valu 
able  reports  or  books  of  great  interest  on  this 
subject,  for  example,  the  last  one  mentioned 
above,  F.  W.  Hodge,  is  the  author  of  the  Hand 
book  on  American  Indians,  a  book  which  should 
be  in  the  library  of  everyone  who  desires  au 
thoritative  information  on  Indian  subjects. 

The  Pueblo  Bonito  was  excavated  by  the  Hyde 
Expedition.  It  was  a  thorough  piece  of  work, 
and  the  reports  on  it  make  most  interesting 
reading.  As  a  result,  the  wrhole  Chaco  Canyon 
section  has  been  made  a  National  Monument, 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  work  of  restora 
tion  will  extend  to  these  great  ruins  as  it  has  in 
the  Mesa  Verde,  in  the  Parjarito  Park  and  at 
Pecos. 

Under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Jesse  W.  Fewkes  of 


46  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology  of  the  Smith 
sonian  Institute,  the  work  of  excavation  and  re 
pair  on  the  ruins  of  the  Mesa  Verde  National 
Park  was  continued  during  the  summer  of  1915. 
It  was  a  continuation  of  work  already  accom 
plished  on  the  cliff-dwellings,  viz.,  Cliff  Palace, 
Spruce-tree  House,  and  Balcony  House.  Dr. 
Fewkes  and  his  associates  had  the  pleasure  and 
honor  on  this  occasion  to  uncover  the  first  and 
thus  far  the  only  pre-historic  Religious  Edifice  on 
the  Western  Hemisphere,  the  Sun  Temple.  It 
has  the  form  of  a  large  letter  "D,"  and  was  made 
of  two  sections,  one  of  which  is  recognized  as 
the  original  building  and  the  other  an  annex. 
The  rooms  of  this  Temple  vary  in  form  and 
type,  some  are  circular,  while  others  are  rect 
angular.  The  circular  ones  are  identified  as  Ki- 
vas,  or  sacred  rooms,  while  the  purpose  of  the 
others  is  still  unknown.  In  addition  to  the  un 
covering  of  this  wonderful  Sun  Temple,  this  ex 
pedition  also  led  to  the  restoring  of  an  addi 
tional  cliff-dwelling  known  as  the  Oak-tree 
(Willow)  House. 

A  great  ethnological  and  archaeological  study 
has  also  been  made  and  is  still  being  made  of 
the  Zuni  people  and  the  ruins  of  their  former 
cities.  (See  article  by  Rev.  H.  Fryling,  Chapter 
XV.)  This  work  is  also  done  by  men  and  women 
commissioned  by  the  Government.  Names  es 
pecially  prominent  in  this  work,  besides  some  of 
those  mentioned  above,  are  Frank  Hamilton 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO          47 

Gushing  and  Mrs.  M.  C.  Stevenson.  While  from 
the  facile  pen  of  George  Wharton  James  we 
have  such  volumes  of  intense  interest  as:  The 
Wonders  of  the  Colorado  Desert,  In  and  Around 
the  Grand  Canyon,  The  Indians  of  the  Painted 
Desert  Region,  etc.,  etc. 

.Today  most  of  the  ruins,  especially  of  New 
Mexico,  have  been  mapped,  some  have  been  ex 
plored,  others  have  been  described  and  pictured 
in  detail.  Any  one  reading  this  and  who  is  par 
ticularly  interested  in  a  study  of  these  pre-his- 
toric  ruins,  should  communicate  with  the  Ameri 
can  School  of  Achaeology  at  Santa  Fe,  N.  M.,  and 
obtain  their  illustrated  bulletins,  such  as  General 
View  of  the  Archaeology  of  the  Pueblo  Region, 
by  Dr.  Edgar  L.  Hewett,  or  Historic  and  Pre-his- 
toric  Ruins  of  the  Southwest,  by  the  same  author. 
A  quarterly,  called  El  Palacio,  illustrated,  es 
pecially  devoted  to  the  Archaeology  of  the  South 
west,  is  also  published  by  the  Archaeological  So 
ciety  of  New  Mexico  and  distributed  to  members 
of  the  Society  upon  the  payment  of  the  annual 
dues  of  $1.00.  Opportunity  sufficient,  therefore, 
for  any  student  interested  in  the  subject  to  ob 
tain  first-hand  information. 


48  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 


IV. 
THE  NAVAHOES 

HTHE  DERIVATION  of  the  name  Navaho,  or 
•••  originally  Navajo,  is  not  positively  known, 
but  it  is  generally  supposed  to  be  derived  from 
"Navaja,"  which  signifies  a  sharp  knife  or  razor. 
It  is  furthermore  surmised  that  this  name  was 
given  them  because  their  warriors  in  former 
times,  when  they  were  still  a  warlike  tribe,  car 
ried  great  stone  knives.  They,  however,  call 
themselves  dine,  which  means  men,  people. 
They  are,  therefore,  according  to  their  idea,  the 
people. 

As  to  their  origin  we  are,  of  course,  also  in 
the  dark.  Many  and  various  are  the  specula 
tions  on  this  point.  It  can  hardly  be  questioned, 
however,  that  they  are  of  Asiatic  origin  and  a 
branch  of  that  nation  of  Indians  now7  known  as 
the  Athapaskan  stock.  This  is  confirmed  by  the 
fact  that  among  the  tribes  of  this  great  Indian 
family,  there  is  a  similarity  in  language  as  far 
as  peculiarities  in  root-words,  construction  and 
phraseology  is  concerned.  A  second  or  further 
confirmation  of  this  supposition  is  in  the  com 
mon  name  by  which  all  these  tribes  call  them 
selves,  namely,  men  or  people. 

The  home  or  country  of  the  Navahoes  is  the 
reservation,  the  largest  now  in  the  United  States, 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO          49 

situated  for  the  greater  part  in  the  northeastern 
corner  of  Arizona  and  the  northwestern  corner 
of  New  Mexico.  It  is  somewhat  larger  in  area 
than  the  three  New  England  States  of  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont  and  Rhode  Island.  But 
the  Navahoes  do  not  confine  themselves  to  this 
definite  allotment  by  the  Government,  altho  it 
contains  some  12,360,723  acres,  or  19,313  square 
miles.  In  every  direction  they  have  gone  be 
yond  the  borders  of  their  reservation.  Isolated 
families  or  small  groups  make  their  homes  either 
temporarily  or  permanently  where  springs, 
streams  or  pools  are  found.  Some  have  even 
taken  up  homesteads  and  have  thus  obtained 
legal  right  to  their  holding,  while  others  are 
simply  squatters. 

The  greater  part  of  the  Navaho  reservation  is 
in  reality  as  well  as  in  appearance,  only  a  bare 
and  barren  desert.  While  the  higher  regions  are 
covered  with  white  pine,  on  a  lower  level  we 
find  the  pinon  and  on  still  lower  slopes  the  red 
cedar  and  juniper.  With  the  exceptions  of  the 
San  Juan  in  the  northeast,  and  the  Little  Colo 
rado  in  the  southwest,  there  are  no  live  rivers 
in  this  vast  territory.  The  rainfall,  which  is 
usually  confined  to  two  short  periods  in  the 
spring  and  in  the  fall,  averages  from  ten  to  four 
teen  inches  annually.  The  altitude  of  the  coun 
try  ranges  from  four  thousand  to  six  and  seven 
thousand  feet,  while  the  mountain  tops  reach  a 
height  of  nine  or  ten  thousand  feet.  As  a  result 


50  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

of  this  the  nights  are  always  cool  and  pleasant, 
for  the  heat  of  the  day  cools  off  rapidly  as  soon 
as  the  sun  sets.  The  valleys,  found  here  and 
there  are,  as  a  rule,  destitute  of  trees,  but  cov 
ered  in  many  places  with  sage  brush,  cactus, 
yucca,  greasewood  and  bunches  of  wild  grass. 

The  number  of  Navahoes  is  also  variously 
estimated.  For  obvious  reasons  it  is  impossible 
to  take  an  accurate  numerical  census  or  make 
an  actual  individual  count.  At  present,  we  are 
told,  there  are  in  round  figures  approximately 
thirty  thousand.  But  when  we  remember  that 
many  Navaho  families  have  two  or  even  three 
different  places  where  they  stay  or  live  at  differ 
ent  seasons  of  the  year,  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely 
that  the  above  mentioned  figures  must  be  consid 
ered  an  over-estimation.  When  the  Navahoes 
were  brought  back  from  Fort  Sumner  in  1868- 
their  number  was  estimated  at  seven  thousand 
three  hundred,  but  this  was  undoubtedly  too  low 
an  estimation,  for  it  is  well  known  that  Kit  Car 
son  did  not  succeed  in  capturing  them  all  during 
his  invasion  or  raid  of  the  Navaho  country.  The 
census  of  1900  gave  the  number  as  seventeen 
thousand  two  hundred  and  four. 

The  Navaho  or  Bedouin  of  our  American  des 
ert  has  not  yet  generally  adopted  clocks  or 
watches,  but  he  still  tells  time  by  pointing  out 
the  position  of  the  sun.  For  him  there  is  no 
definite  number  of  days  to  a  month  or  a  year, 
and  the  several  days  of  the  week  are  not  desig- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO          51 

nated  by  specific  names.  Just  as  in  ages  past 
and  among  various  tribes  of  Indians,  the  Nav- 
aho  reckons  a  man's  age  according  to  the  num 
ber  of  winters  he  has  lived.  In  referring  back 
to  any  incident,  a  certain  outstanding,  well- 
known  event  is  mentioned,  and  then  the  num 
ber  of  years  before  or  after  that  is  given.  So  for 
many  years  the  return  of  the  people  from  Fort 
Sumner  was  used,  so  many  years  before  or  af 
ter  the  return.  Since  the  coming  of  the  mission 
aries  among  them  and  their  observance  of  the 
Lord's  Day,  the  Sunday  has  become  a  fixed  date 
for  reckoning  purposes,  and  they  refer  to  so  or 
so  many  Sundays  past  or  hence,  one  or  more 
days  from  or  after  Sunday. 

As  among  the  people  of  old,  so  the  Navaho 
today  still  measures  the  length  or  breadth  of  an 
object  by  the  span,  by  the  width  of  a  finger  or 
hand,  or  by  stepping  off,  if  it  is  a  parcel  of  land 
to  be  measured.  Distances  between  two  given 
points  are  generally  pointed  out  by  the  time  re 
quired  to  cover  the  distance  in  question,  for  ex 
ample,  by  walking  all  day.  Any  one  who  has 
ever  experienced  losing  his  way  and  has  found 
it  necessary  to  ask  directions  of  a  Navaho  whom 
he  happened  to  meet  knows  how  valuable  and 
enlightening  the  information  is  when  given  in 
such  vague  and  indefinite  terms  or  figures,  un 
less  perchance  he  has  spent  years  among  them 
and  has  become  accustomed  to  all  their  ways. 

The  dwelling  of  the  Navaho,  as  we  undoubt- 


52  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

edly  know,  is  called  a  hogan,  and  is,  to  a  stranger 
visiting  among  them,  in  every  respect  a  miser 
able  and  uncomely  structure,  devoid  of  any  dec 
oration,  thus  in  direct  contrast  with  the  beauty 
and  harmony  exhibited  by  them  in  their  blan 
kets  and  silver-work.  We  surmise  that  the  no 
madic  life  which  they  lead  has  exerted  a  great 
influence  in  this  matter.  We  also  notice  that 
they  have  neglected  the  art  of  pottery  making, 
so  highly  advanced  among  some  neighboring 
Pueblo  tribes,  undoubtedly  because  pottery  was 
considered  too  cumbersome  to  be  carried  along 
on  their  migrations.  The  art  of  weaving  the 
most  beautiful  blankets,  however,  was  not  neg 
lected  but  developed  to  so  high  degree  of  per 
fection,  that  the  Navaho  blanket  is  known  the 
world  over.  This  art,  of  course,  was  not  im 
paired  by  an  occasional  change  of  dwelling- 
place,  for  the  blankets  are  woven  on  a  loom  gen 
erally  set  up  alongside  of  the  hogan.  These 
hogans  can  be  distinguished  into  two  classes: 
the  summer  and  the  winter  home.  The  former 
is  as  a  rule  situated  near  what  is  called  the 
farm,  while  the  latter  is  located  in  such  a  place 
where  fuel  is  more  or  less  easily  to  be  had,  and 
where  there  is  range  for  the  flocks.  It  is  to  be 
understood  that  more  care  is  expended  upon  the 
winter  dwelling,  around  which  are  built  the 
permanent  fixtures  as  corrals,  etc.,  than  upon 
the  summer  residence,  which  very  often  is  noth 
ing  better  than  an  open-air  camp.  Anyone  ap- 


54  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

preaching  either  of  these  homes  after  dark,  soon 
learns  that  besides  sheep,  goats  and  ponies,  there 
are  also  dogs  at  every  Navaho  camp.  These 
dogs  are  a  sorry  looking  set  of  mongrels,  but  the 
masters  find  them  invaluable  in  herding  the 
sheep.  Generally  they  are  lean  and  mean,  ill-fed 
and  mistreated.  The  pups  are  early  trained  to 
help  with  the  work,  and  are  not  infrequently 
nursed  by  a  goat  of  the  herd. 

Formerly  the  Navaho  came  into  possession  of 
his  cows,  sheep  and  horses  by  making  raids  upon 
his  neighbors,  the  Pueblo  Indians  and  Mexicans, 
but  in  later  years  he  obtained  them  thru  grants 
made  by  the  Government.  The  horses  are  sel 
dom  fed,  but  turned  out  to  shift  for  themselves, 
even  when  they  are  worked  they  receive  but 
little  grain  or  hay  from  their  owners.  They  are 
kept  primarily  for  breeding,  riding,  and  driving 
purposes.  The  Navaho  is  a  poor  rider  and 
driver,  and  is  very  indifferent  to  the  needs  of 
his  horse.  No  missionary  who  loves  his  horse 
will  readily  allow  a  Navaho  to  use  him.  The 
herds  of  sheep  are  as  a  rule  under  the  super 
vision  of  the  children  and  women,  who  keep 
them  on  the  move  from  early  morning  until 
sunset,  when  they  are  returned  to  the  corral  for 
the  night.  No  provision  is  made  for  the  winter, 
as  the  herds  feed  on  the  withered  grass  and  sage 
brush,  and  when  the  snow  gets  too  deep,  pinon 
and  cedar  branches  are  cut  off  for  them  to  graze 
on.  In  the  spring  and  fall  the  shearing  takes 


IN       HOG  AN       AND       PUEBLO  55 

place,  altho  the  spring  shearing  is  put  off  as  long 
as  possible  in  order  to  avoid  the  early  storms. 
During  the  lambing  season  the  sheep  are  taken 
to  such  places  that  afford  good  grazing  and  wa 
ter,  so  that  the  lambs  may  get  a  good  start  and 
be  quite  strong  when  it  becomes  necessary  for 
the  family  to  move.  After  the  shearing  follows, 
for  the  women,  the  sorting  and  washing  of  the 
wool,  then  the  carding  and  spinning,  which  is  a 
long  and  tedious  process.  Having  dyed  the 
wool  black,  yellow,  red,  blue,  etc.,  she  puts  up 
the  loom  and  weaves  one  of  those  remarkable 
blankets  of  which  we  have  already  spoken,  and 
which  her  white  sisters  are  very  proud  to  pos 
sess.  Less  attention  is  paid  to  the  cattle.  These, 
with  the  unused  and  unbroken  ponies,  are 
usually  driven  to  the  mountains,  from  which 
the  sheep  are  excluded.  Occasionally  the  owner 
will  make  an  inspection  or  with  assistants 
rounds  them  up  for  branding.  While  the  sheep 
are  quite  often  the  property  of  the  wife,  the 
cattle  frequently  belong  to  the  man. 

From  the  earliest  times  agriculture  was  also 
one  of  the  chief  industries  of  the  Navaho,  but 
has  up  to  the  present  been  carried  on  along  the 
most  primitive  lines.  Corn,  melons,  squash, 
and  beans  are  the  main  crops,  but  gradually 
oats,  hay,  wheat,  and  alfalfa  are  being  added  to 
the  list.  Since  irrigation  can  be  carried  on  only 
on  a  very  small  scale,  and  that  at  points  where 
water  is  available  from  the  Little  Colorado  and 


56  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

San  Juan  Rivers,  the  harvests  are  never  very 
abundant. 

The  art  of  silver-smithing  is  also  found  among 
the  Navahoes,  altho  it  is  considered  by  authori 
ties  to  be  of  comparatively  recent  date,  probably 
developed  during  the  last  seventy-five  years. 
There  being  no  silver  mines  in  his  country,  the 
Navaho  silversmith  purchases  Mexican  silver 
dollars,  which  are  generally  worth  from  forty- 
five  to  sixty  cents  of  United  States  money.  These 
dollars  are  molten  and  molded,  or  more  often 
simply  cut  and  hammered  into  the  desired  orna 
ments  and  trinkets.  One  of  the  most  curious 
and  interesting  as  well  as  most  puzzling  pieces 
of  work  wrought  by  the  Navaho  silversmith  is 
the  necklace  of  silver  beads.  These  beads  are 
round  and  inwardly  hollow.  They  are  of  dif 
ferent  sizes  and  so  arranged  that  the  top  beads, 
or  those  resting  on  the  neck,  are  quite  small,  but 
they  gradually  increase  in  size  until  those  rest 
ing  on  the  middle  of  the  breast  are  almost  one- 
half  inch  in  diameter.  When  seen  and  exam 
ined  for  the  first  time  one  cannot  but  wonder 
how  it  is  possible  for  the  Navaho,  with  his  simple 
and  crude  tools,  to  manufacture  such  a  neat 
piece  of  work.  Another  silver  ornament  much  in 
favor  and  worn  with  pride  and  show  is  the 
leather  belt  upon  which  are  strung  from  ten  to 
twelve  plates  or  disks  of  silver,  usually  of  an 
oval  shape,  with  a  scalloped  edge,  measuring 
about  four  and  a  half  inches  in  length  and  three 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  57 

inches  in  breadth,  and  not  infrequently  beauti 
fully  chased  and  engraved.  Inquiring  at  the 
home  of  a  Zuni  Lieutenant-Governor,  where  we 
saw  one  of  these  belts  hanging  on  the  wall,  what 
the  value  of  it  was,  we  were  informed  that  it 
was  worth  from  forty  to  fifty  dollars.  Large 
conchas  or  bridle  buttons  are  also  used,  making 
a  single  bridle  cost  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
dollars  or  their  equivalent  in  sheep,  ponies,  or 
other  stock.  The  most  popular  pieces  of  jewelry 
manufactured,  however,  are  the  bracelets  and 
rings,  worn  by  both  men  and  women.  The  men 
as  a  rule  wear  less  than  the  women.  The  latter 
wear  three  or  four  bracelets  on  each  wrist  and 
a  half-dozen  rings  on  each  hand.  The  variety  of 
both,  as  to  form  and  symbol,  is  great,  and  like 
the  Navaho  blanket  no  two  seem  to  be  exactly 
alike.  Spoons,  knives,  sugar-shells,  etc.,  are  also 
being  made  more  and  more,  but  only  to  be  sold 
to  the  whites  for  souvenirs  of  the  Navaho  coun 
try.  The  one  precious  stone  used  much  for  or 
namentation  in  ring  and  bracelet  is  the 
turquoise. 

The  home-life  of  the  Navaho  is  in  many  re 
spects  very  simple.  The  father  is  nominally  the 
head  and  has  supreme  authority,  but  if  the  wife 
has  any  spirit  whatsoever,  she  easily  exerts  the 
greater  influence,  for  seemingly  the  hogan  is  her 
domain  and  the  children  are  hers,  for  they  are 
reckoned  to  belong  to  the  same  clan  to  which 
she  belongs.  According  to  some  the  Navaho 


58  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

tribe  is  divided  into  numerous  clans,  namely, 
four  main  clans,  subdivided  into  twelve  sub- 
clans.  The  lines  of  these  clans  are  definitely 
and  sharply  drawn,  and  the  intermarrying  of 
members  of  the  same  clan  is  prohibited.  The 
children  are  reckoned  as  members  of  the 
mother's  clan  and  not  of  the  father's,  therefore, 
seemingly  at  least,  the  children  belong  more  to 
the  mother  than  to  the  father.  They  are  treated, 
however,  by  both  father  and  mother  with  kind 
ness  and  affection,  and  they  in  turn  show  an  in 
born,  spontaneous  obedience.  The  Navaho  is 
loathe  to  command  his  children  or  to  threaten 
them  if  they  do  not  obey,  consequently  we  can 
hardly  speak  of  discipline,  and  as  we  have  said, 
there  is  a  sort  of  inborn  respect  and  reverence 
for  the  elders,  and  far  better  than  our  own  chil 
dren,  the  brownies  have  learned  that  a  child  is 
to  be  seen  but  not  heard.  This  has  often  caused 
embarrassment  to  the  workers  among  them,  for 
instance,  when  they  send  a  school-boy  to  his 
home  to  inquire  whether  his  parents  have  a  mut 
ton  to  sell,  he  will  stand  around  the  hogan, 
shifting  from  one  foot  to  the  other,  for  half  a  day 
without  putting  the  question,  simply  because  no 
one  happens  to  ask  him  what  he  wants  or  what 
he  is  doing  there,  and  he  is  not  to  speak  until  he 
is  spoken  to,  and  the  person  who  sent  him  is 
simply  kept  waiting. 

The  training  of  children  is  not  a  matter  of 
grave  concern   to   the  Navaho   parent.     When 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  59 

still  very  young,  at  the  age  of  five  or  six,  and 
sometimes  even  earlier,  both  the  boys  and  girls 
are  sent  out  with  the  sheep.  When  the  boys 
become  older  they  discontinue  this,  sit  on  the 
father's  side  in  the  hogan,  look  after  the  ponies 
and  begin  to  perform  the  duties  which  are  gen 
erally  considered  to  belong  to  the  man.  As 
among  most  primitive  people,  however,  the 
great  burden  of  labor  falls  to  the  lot  of  the 
woman.  The  man  builds  the  hogan,  corrals, 
brings  in  the  fuel  if  it  must  be  hauled  some  dis 
tance,  but  he  does  not  always  chop  it  up  for 
use,  occasionally  he  may  also  go  after  the  water, 
does  a  little  of  the  farming  if  a  plow  is  used,  but 
he  busies  himself  especially  with  breaking  the 
ponies  for  riding  and  driving,  smokes  and  likes 
to  talk,  therefore  he  is  seldom  absent  from  any 
family-  or  clan  gathering.  In  more  recent  times 
he  has  learned  to  work  on  the  railroad,  for  the 
Government,  and  at  freighting  for  the  inland 
traders,  etc.  The  women  have  the  care  of  the 
sheep  and  all  that  is  connected  with  the  prepar 
ing  of  the  wool,  as  we  have  already  stated  above. 
In  addition,  she  does  most  of  the  farming, 
weaves  blankets,  and  keeps  the  hogan  in  shape. 
She  is  the  first  to  arise  in  the  morning,  carries 
the  bedding,  sheep  and  goat's  skins,  etc.,  outside 
and  then  gets  breakfast.  The  meals  which  she 
prepares  and  sets  before  the  lord  of  the  manor 
consist  of  potatoes,  beans,  melons,  pumpkins, 


60  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

squash,  flour,  and  cornmeal  mush  or  cakes,  mut 
ton  and  beaf,  coffee,  tea  and  goat's  milk. 

It  is  probably  known  that  polygamy  prevails  to 
quite  a  degree  and  extent  among  the  Navahoes. 
The  man  may  have  as  many  wives  as  he  is  able 
to  procure  and  maintain,  and  his  standing  in  the 
tribe  is  reckoned  by  the  number  of  his  children. 
When  married  to  the  first  wife  there  is  a  certain 
marriage  ceremony,  which  we  may  explain  later 
on,  but  this  ceremony  is  not  repeated  with  the 
others;  they  are  designated  as  "added  ones."  It 
is  very  possible  that  the  "added  one"  is  a 
sister  or  even  a  daughter  of  his  wife  by  a  pre 
vious  marriage.  Not  infrequently  a  man  mar 
ries  a  woman  with  a  little  girl  with  the  under 
standing  that  the  little  one,  as  soon  as  she  be 
comes  eligible,  shall  also  become  his  wife.  Quite 
often,  or  probably  we  should  say  usually,  these 
plural  wives  live  under  one  roof,  or  rather  in  the 
same  hogan,  and  not  in  separate  dwellings.  It 
may  well  happen  that  a  stranger  calling  at  a 
hogan  and  seeing  different  women  present, 
might  think  that  some  neighboring  ladies  were 
visiting  there,  when  in.  fact  all  present,  old  and 
young,  were  the  wives  of  the  one  man.  It  goes 
without  gainsaying  that  some  trouble  must  arise 
now  and  then  because  of  these  conditions,  but 
we  are  assured  that  it  does  not  cause  as  much 
friction  and  controversy  as  we  might  expect,  for 
these  women  have  been  brought  up  from  child 
hood  in  the  face  of  these  prevailing  customs.  We 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO          61 

are  informed  that  we  should  never  ask  a  Nav- 
aho :  Is  this  your  wife?  but,  Is  this  the  mother  of 
your  children?  The  children  of  one  mother  feel 
more  closely  akin  to  each  other,  belonging  to  the 
same  clan,  than  to  the  children  of  their  father  by 
other  added  wives.  The  relationship  of  children 
to  one  another,  called  by  the  same  name,  is  not 
always  clear  to  one  who  is  not  accustomed  to 
deal  with  Navahoes. 

Evidences  of  love  between  man  and  wife  and 
between  parents  and  children  are  not  lacking, 
but  because  they  are  not  demonstrative  about 
it  we  might  be  led  to  consider  them  cold,  indif 
ferent  and  unconcerned.  If  husband  and  wife 
have  been  separated  for  some  time,  for  instance, 
because  of  sickness  one  or  the  other  has  been 
confined  in  the  hospital,  when  they  meet  again, 
they  hold  hands,  say  a  word  or  two  and  for  the 
rest  only  look  at  each  other  and  are  quiet.  Kiss 
ing  each  other,  although  adopted  by  a  few  who 
have  graduated  from  a  Mission  or  Government 
School,  is  still  very  rare.  It  is  told  of  a  certain 
white  man  who  had  married  a  Navaho  woman, 
that,  after  quite  some  time  of  married  life  she 
went  to  visit  her  folks.  Upon  her  return  he  met 
the  train  to  take  her  to  their  distant  home.  He 
was  very  glad  to  see  her  and  so  when  she  stepped 
up  to  him  he  embraced  and  kissed  her.  This 
token  of  happy  affection  was  repaid  with  a  re 
sounding  whack  on  his  cheek,  as  she  indignantly 
said:  "Navaho  don't  do  that  way."  When  the 


62  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

children  are  off  to  school,  either  a  Government 
or  Mission  Boarding  .School,  the  parents  quite 
often  come  to  visit  them  and  they  hardly  ever 
fail  to  bring  something  in  the  way  of  a  present; 
and  while  the  parents  are  there,  the  children 
spend  every  possible  moment  with  them.  Dur 
ing  the  school-year  the  children  are  continually 
looking  forward  to  .the  two  months  of  vacation 
which  they  will  spend  at  home.  Some,  indeed, 
get  so  lonesome  and  homesick  while  at  school, 
that  they  run  away  and  go  home,  altho  they 
know  they  will  be  brought  back  and  be  punished 
for  it. 

Just  here  we  are  reminded  of  the  fact  that  one 
of  the  hardest  lessons  for  Navaho  children  to 
learn  at  school  is  to  follow  and  obey  the  rules. 
Unless  thoroughly  explained,  the  why  and  the 
wherefore,  they  can  see  no  sense  in  rules  and 
regulations,  for  in  their  homes  they  never  met 
with  such  restraining  influences,  but  to  a  great 
extent  were  left  to  themselves.  It  is  not  possible 
on  this  account  to  speak  of  any  special  system 
atic  and  intelligent  training  of  children  by  the 
Navaho  parents.  The  boys  and  girls  simply  pick 
up  the  language  as  it  is  spoken  in  the  home,  and 
in  every  way  are  obliged  to  accustom  them 
selves  to  the  general  run  of  things  in  and  around 
the  hogan.  They  know  nothing  about  the  com 
mon  forms  of  courtesy  which  we  attempt  to 
teach  our  children.  They  do  not  know  the  use 
of  "Please"  and  they  never  say  "Thank  you," 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  53 

thereby  very  often  creating  the  impression  with 
a  stranger  that  they  do  not  in  any  way  appreci 
ate  all  that  is  done  for  them.  They  simply 
grunt,  as  it  sounds  to  us,  "No"  or  "Yes."  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  therefore,  the  Navaho  boys  and 
girls  as  they  grow  up  obtain  a  knowledge  of 
many  hurtful  and  vicious  things  thru  eye-  and 
ear-gate,  which  knowledge  it  would  be  much 
better  for  them  not  to  have  had  until  of  riper 
years,  if  at  all. 

Now  it  is  very  possible  that  we  might 
imagine  that  these  conditions  give  the  mission 
ary  a  blessed  opportunity  to  go  to  the  hogans 
and  undertake  the  teaching  and  training  of  these 
children.  Is  that  possible?  Hear  the  missionary 
himself  on  this  subject!  Let  us  not  forget  that 
these  Navaho  boys  and  girls,  wiien  they  are  old 
enough  to  profit  by  the  instruction  of  a  Mis 
sionary,  are  generally  not  at  home  during  the 
day,  being  out  with  the  sheep,  out  after  water 
or  wood,  or  off  on  some  other  errand;  and  in  the 
evening  there  is  no  time,  for  then  they  are  tired 
with  the  day's  wanderings  and  very  early  seek 
the  sheepskin  for  the  night.  Furthermore,  there 
would  be  no  suitable  place  for  teaching  in  a 
hogan;  first  of  all,  there  is  no  light  except  that 
of  the  fire  in  the  center  of  the  earthen  floor,  and 
that  fire  is  there  for  heat  and  not  for  light,  and 
undoubtedly  the  parents  would  resent  it  if  the 
children  were  to  receive  so  much  attention,  and 
last  but  not  least,  the  hogan  children  are  so 


64  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

very,  very  shy  in  the  presence  of  strangers. 

Again  we  might  wonder  whether  it  would  not 
be  possible  for  him  to  look  them  up  when  they 
are  out  with  the  sheep,  quietly  sit  down  with 
them  and  by  means  of  pictures  and  other  ob 
jects,  teach  them?  He  tells  us,  that  by  asking 
the  question  we  manifest  that  we  do  not  know 
the  conditions  of  Navaho  life.  The  boys,  and 
especially  the  girls,  out  with  the  sheep  cannot 
be  approached,  for  as  soon  as  they  discover  a 
stranger  coming  toward  them,  they  hide,  and 
when  they  hide  they  surely  effectually  disap 
pear  and  it  seems  they  are  always  on  the  look- 
out  for  strangers,  and  are  therefore  not  caught 
unawares.  This  alertness  is  undoubtedly  partly 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  girls,  being  alone  or  with 
a  little  brother,  have  often  been  and  often  still 
are  attacked  by  brutes  in  human  form.  And  the 
older  care-takers,  young  women,  know  only  too 
well  what  would-be  said  should  they  be  visited, 
while  thus  alone,  by  any  man.  Their  reputation 
would  surely  suffer,  and  of  that  they  are  often 
more  afraid  than  the  whites.  The  instruction 
that  the  Missionary  would  be  able  to  give  to  the 
children  in  the  hogan  or  while  they  are  out  with 
the  sheep  would  therefore  be  nil. 

While  the  Navaho  boys  and  girls  attending  an 
Indian  Boarding  School  are  taught  and  begin  to 
play  many  games  in  common  with  our  children : 
the  girls  playing  with  dolls,  at  house-keeping, 
jumping  the  rope,  etc.;  the  boys  playing  shinny^ 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO          65 

marbles,  tops  and  especially  the  great  American 
game,  baseball,  the  little  folks  in  and  around  the 
hogan  and  while  out  with  the  sheep,  have  not 
much  in  the  way  of  games  and  amusements.  The 
little  girls  will  make  pets  of  prairie-dogs  and 
other  animals  and  play  with  them,  and  in  some 
localities  the  boys  will  play  at  archery  or  imi 
tate  the  games  of  their  elders.  The  men  and 
women  have  games  of  their  own,  altho  most  of 
the  original  games  of  the  tribe  are  no  longer  in 
use.  Formerly,  for  instance,  there  was  the  game 
of  Hoop  and  Pole  which  called  for  great  dex 
terity.  The  hoop  was  wound  about  with  hide  or 
buckskin,  ranging  from  one  to  six  inches  in 
diameter.  It  was  rolled  over  a  course  east  and 
west,  and  the  pole  thrust  at  it  when  in  motion 
in  an  effort  to  pierce  the  opening.  This  pole 
was  decorated  with  thongs  of  buckskin  and 
counts  were  taken  as  these  strings,  called  turkey 
feet,  lay  across  the  hoop.  The  number  of  counts 
to  be  scored  was  decided  upon  before  the  game 
began.  Another  game  of  which  some  were  pas 
sionately  fond  was  called  the  Moccasin  Game. 
Four  moccasins  were  buried,  allowing  just  the 
tip  of  their  uppers  to  show  above  the  ground. 
A  small  pebble  was  hidden  in  one  of  the  mocca 
sins  and  its  presence  guessed  at  by  the  opposing 
party,  who  won  or  lost  as  they  succeeded  or 
failed  in  locating  it.  Still  another  game,  espe 
cially  popular  with  the  women,  therefore  also 
designated  as  a  woman's  game  and  not  played 


66  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

after  sunset,  was  the  Bouncing  Stick  Game.  It 
was  played  by  them  around  a  circle  of  forty 
stones.  Three  billets  or  sticks  of  wood  were 
thrown  upon  a  flat  stone  in  .the  center  of  this 
circle,  so  that  they  would  rebound  from  a  sus 
pended  blanket  and  fall  within  the  circle  around 
which  the  women  were  seated.  Counts  were 
made  according  to  which  side  of  the  billet  or 
stick  was  up,  one  hundred  and  twenty  points 
winning  the  game.  Today,  however,  the  Nav- 
aho  being  a  passionate  gambler,  all  games  of 
dexterity  or  chance  have  no  interest  unless  there 
is  a  stake  to  be  won.  He  sees  neither  sense  nor 
pleasure  in  playing  cards  or  dice  just  for 
amusement.  Modern  cards  have  to  a  great  ex 
tent  displaced  all  original  tribal  games,  altho 
the  Navaho's  knowledge  of  cards  is  usually  lim 
ited  to  two  games,  called  monte  and  coon  can. 

In  ancient  times  it  seems  to  have  been  a  gen 
eral  rule  that  both  the  boys  and  girls  were  be 
tween  the  ages  of  seventeen  and  twenty  before 
they  entered  the  marriage  state,  but  since  they 
came  in  contact  with  the  Mexicans,  with  whom 
early  marriage  was  a  custom,  the  Navahoes  also 
began  to  give  their  children  in  marriage  at  a 
much  younger  age.  It  was  no  unusual  thing  to 
see  a  girl  married  at  thirteen  or  even  a  mother  at 
that  age.  At  present,  if  the  parties  desire  to  be 
married  legally,  they  must  observe  the  require 
ments  laid  down  by  the  Government  also  with 
respect  to  the  age  limit,  unless  they  present  a 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  67 

permit  of  their  parents  or  guardians  that  they 
consent  to  the  marriage  of  their  son  or  daughter 
at  an  earlier  age  than  stipulated  by  the 
Government. 

When  a  young  man  has  seen  or  met  a  girl 
whom  he  desires  for  a  wife,  he  requests  his  par 
ents,  an  uncle,  or  some  good  friend  of  his  to  take 
the  initiative  and  begin  the  necessary  negotia 
tions  to  obtain  for  him  the  desire  of  his  heart. 
A  visit  to  the  home  of  the  chosen  one  is  made 
by  the  intermediary,  he  speaks  to  the  parents, 
and  if  they  agree  then  generally  the  girl  is  also 
consulted,  and  if  there  are  no  objections  on  her 
part,  an  early  date  is  set  for  the  ceremony.  If 
the  bride-elect  should  not  be  willing,  this  does 
not  usually  prevent  the  marriage,  but  only  post 
pones  it  for  a  while.  Somehow  or  other,  after  a 
while,  by  persuasion  or  otherwise,  the  unwilling 
one  becomes  willing  or  at  least  is  married  to  the 
man  approved  by  her  parents.  As  soon  as  the 
date  of  the  ceremony  is  determined,  or  during 
the  period  which  we  might  designate  as  the  en 
gagement,  which  generally  is  about  a  month,  the 
young  people  carefully  avoid  each  other  and 
there  is  no  thought  of  courtship.  The  ceremony 
which  makes  them  man  and  wife  will  be  briefly 
described  under  the  head  of  Customs,  and  the 
relation  of  mother-in-law  to  son-in-law  will  be 
spoken  of  under  Superstitions. 

The  older  Navaho  is  very  much  concerned 
about  the  traditions  handed  down  from  genera- 


68  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

tion  to  generation,  and  very  seldom,  and  then 
only  in  non-essential  matters,  departs  from 
them.  The  younger  Navahoes,  however,  having 
attended  an  Indian  School,  either  Government 
or  Mission,  do  not  cling  so  tenaciously  to  these 
traditions  of  the  elders.  It  is  becoming  more 
and  more  a  custom  with  them  to  follow  the  ex 
ample  of  the  whites.  They  court  the  girl  they 
desire  to  marry,  enter  upon  a  formal  engage 
ment,  and  then  marry  in  a  legal  way,  very  of 
ten  requesting  the  Missionary  at  the  School  to 
solemnize  the  marriage  at  the  Agency  or  Mission 
in  the  presence  of  their  parents,  friends  and  em 
ployees  at  the  post.  These  ceremonies  are  in 
great  favor  with  the  Missionaries,  for  it  fosters 
the  fond  hope  that  the  Navaho  youth  of  today  is 
beginning  to  recognize  the  marriage  state  to  be 
of  divine  origin  and  institution,  and  therefore 
sacred. 

Whereas  the  divorce  evil  is  already  so  very 
prevalent  and  still  on  the  increase  among  us, 
who  should  know  better,  having  the  Master's 
direct  prohibition  of  it  excepting  on  one 
ground,  we  are  naturally  curious  to  know  what 
is  found  in  this  line  among  our  Navaho  neigh 
bors.  Now  we  are  informed  as  to  this  that  when 
trouble  arises  between  a  man  and  his  wife  and 
they  are  not  able  to  settle  it  between  themselves, 
not  infrequently  a  council  of  relatives,  that  is, 
clan-members,  is  called  and  the  trouble  investi 
gated  and  if  possible  an  adjustment  of  the  dif- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO          69 

ferences  is  made.  Quite  often  this  procedure 
brings  about  the  desired  reconciliation,  if  not,  it 
is  possible  that  the  matter  is  presented  to  the 
Government  Agent  of  the  district  in  which  the 
parties  live.  He  hears  the  evidence  and  gives 
his  decision  and  this  has  the  force  of  law,  but 
very  often  the  Navaho,  even  as  his  white 
brother,  finds  a  way  to  evade  a  repugnant  and 
an  unsatisfactory  ruling.  If  from  the  beginning 
an  unsatisfactory  decision  is  expected,  the  mat 
ter  is  rather  brought  to  a  Missionary  than  to  a 
Government  Agent.  Missionaries  very  often, 
therefore,  serve,  as  arbiters  in  marital  troubles 
and  generally  are  successful  in  reconciling  the 
parties.  This  is  especially  true  where  a  legal 
marriage  has  taken  place  and  a  separation  or 
divorce  must  conform  to  the  rules  enacted  by 
the  United  States  Government. 

With  the  primitive  Navaho  it  is  quite  differ 
ent.  A  divorce  as  understood  by  us,  is  not 
known  to  him.  Their  marriage  being  in  many 
respects  nothing  more  than  a  co-habitation,  their 
divorce  is  also  simply  a  separation  with  or  with 
out  mutual  consent.  Incompatibility  of  temper 
and  unfaithfulness,  real  or  alleged,  are  the  usual 
sources  of  trouble.  Generally  the  man  steps  out 
and  leaves.  The  hogan,  with  its  belongings,  the 
children,  and  her  personal  possessions  such  as 
sheep,  etc.,  remain  with  her.  He  takes  his 
ponies,  cattle,  and  personal  belongings  with  him. 
Not  long  after  this  separation  he  is  living  with 


70  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

another  woman  and  she,  the  forsaken  one,  has 
another  husband  and  her  children  another 
father.  In  general  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
morale  of  the  Navaho  people  is  no  longer  what 
it  once  was.  According  to  some  this  is  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  advent  of  the  Mexicans  among 
them,  which  has  had  much  to  do  with  the  in 
crease  of  dishonesty  and  immorality.  We  would 
add,  however,  that  the  unprincipled  conduct  of 
many  Americans,  especially  soldiers  and 
traders,  and  the  illegal  introduction  of  liquor, 
fire-water,  has  done  much  toward  the  demoral 
ization  of  this  people.  A  still  further  reason  for 
it  is  to  be  found  in  the  following  observations: 
the  Navaho  is  really  a  child  in  his  conception  of 
many  of  life's  relations  and  by  nature  he  is  very 
covetous.  Today  he  finds  many  opportunities  to 
satisfy  that  nature  as  well  as  the  awakened  de 
sires  and  passions  of  the  flesh.  He  earns  more 
than  is  good  for  him  by  working  in  the  mines, 
on  the  railroad,  for  the  Government,  etc.  The 
more  he  earns  the  more  he  spends  and  the  more 
he  has  to  spend  for  that  which  is  wicked  and  de 
bauching.  Naturally  there  are  always  enough 
of  the  scum  of  the  white  race  to  assist  him  on 
the  downward  grade. 

The  widow  among  the  Navahoes  is  just  as 
highly  respected  as  any  woman  of  good  reputa 
tion.  She  is  not  cast  off,  looked  down  upon,  de 
spised  as  the  child  widows  of  India,  for  instance, 
who  live  but  miserable  and  dreary  lives.  The 


A  Navaho  Girl 


72  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Navaho  widow  is  in  no  way  Shut  out  from  inter 
course  with  others  or  from  any  gathering  of  her 
people.  She  is  considered  unfortunate  and  an 
object  of  sympathy,  but  has  no  special  privileges 
because  of  her  widowhood.  Frequently  the  hus 
band's  brother  assumes  the  care  of  the  family 
and  looks  after  the  interests  of  the  children  to 
secure  to  them  the  property  left  them  by  their 
father.  The  tie  of  blood  is  strongly  felt,  and 
many  examples  of  unselfish  care  for  a  brother's 
children  could  be  found.  There  is  among  this 
people  no  denying  a  poor  relative  because  he  is 
poor  in  the  things  of  this  world.  The  property 
of  the  woman  remains  hers,  also  when  she  be 
comes  a  widow.  The  deceased's  property  re 
verts  to  his  relatives,  unless  in  the  presence  of 
reliable  witnesses  he  has  made  disposition  of  it 
to  his  wife  or  children  before  he  died.  If  it  is 
the  woman  that  dies  she  has  generally  deter 
mined  beforehand  what  is  to  be  done  with  her 
possessions. 

Another  pleasure  in  which  both  men  and 
women  take  a  great  delight  is  the  trading  at  the 
various  Indian  trading  stores  on  and  off  the 
reservation.  The  men  generally  dispose  of  the 
wool,  while  the  women  sell  the  blankets  they 
have  woven.  This  trading  is  rather  a  drawn-out 
affair,  and  quite  amusing  to  a  white  stranger  not 
accustomed  to  things  Navaho.  After  the  money 
for  the  wool  or  blanket  is  received,  first  the  debt, 
if  any,  at  the  store  is  paid,  then  one  thing  de- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  73 

sired  is  asked  and  paid  for,  the  necessary  change 
being  made.  The  clerk  steps  over  to  another 
customer  and  after  a  while  returns  to  Number 
One  who  orders  a  second  item,  pays  for  it  and 
receives  the  change;  thus  it  proceeds,  one  item 
at  a  time  until  he  has  spent  all  his  money  or  has 
obtained  all  that  he  wants.  In  some  cases,  no 
doubt,  this  custom  has  arisen  from  the  fact  that 
all  traders  have  not  been  honest  in  their  dealings 
with  the  Indians,  and  now  he  wants  to  be  sure 
that  he  receives  the  right  change  every  time  he 
makes  a  purchase.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must 
also  be  said  that  the  Indian  has  not  been  slow  in 
taking  advantage  of  a  trader  new  in  the  busi 
ness  and  not  aware  of  the  value  of  things  put  in 
pawn  with  him  for  merchandise  received.  Dur 
ing  certain  periods  of  the  year  when  the  Indian 
has  nothing  to  sell,  he  pawns  his  silver  and  tur 
quoise  ornaments  with  the  traders  in  order  to 
get  the  things  he  needs  in  the  way  of  eatables 
and  wearing  apparel,  etc.  Now  it  behooves  a 
trader  to  know  what  these  things  given  in  pawn 
are  worth,  for  a  trader  old  in  the  business  as 
sured  us  that  if  an  Indian  could  obtain  twenty- 
five  cents  worth  of  merchandise  more  than  the 
value  of  the  pawn,  he  would  never  return  to  re 
deem  it.  Some  traders  have  paid  very  dearly 
for  their  experience,  seeing  that  the  value  of 
turquoise  is  not  to  be  determined  by  one  who 
does  not  know  the  difference  between  the 
various  kinds. 


74  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Before  proceeding  to  speak  more  particularly 
about  the  customs,  etc.,  we  desire  to  give  just  a 
very  brief  synopsis  of  the  history  of  the  Nava- 
hoes.  The  first  record  or  mention  that  is  made 
of  them  is  by  Zarate-Salmeron,  whose  memoirs 
date  back  to  1626,  and  here  they  are  referred  to 
as  Apaches  de  Nabayu.  In  1630,  a  Franciscan 
Friar,  in  a  memorial  to  the  King  of  Spain,  speaks 
of  the  "Province  of  the  Apaches  of  Navajo,"  and 
says  that  they  are  great  farmers,  and  further 
more  he  mentions  a  treaty  of  peace  which  he 
was  instrumental  in  concluding  between  the 
Navaho  and  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  Santa  Clara. 
These  Navahoes  were  evidently  not  an  easy 
people  to  get  along  with,  for  it  seems  that  they 
were  great  marauders  and  lusted  after  the  pos 
sessions  of  others.  Their  history  is  therefore  a 
chain  of  wars  and  treaties.  Previous  to  the 
dates  above  mentioned  and  until  1863,  there  ex 
isted  between  them  and  the  Pueblo  Indians  and 
afterwards  also  with  the  Mexicans,  when  these 
began  to  settle  in  that  country,  an  almost  con 
tinuous  guerilla  warfare.  When  this  territory, 
after  the  Mexican  war,  became  a  part  of  the 
United  States,  the  Federal  soldiers  were  sent  to 
establish  peace.  Many  were  the  campaigns  di 
rected  against  them,  in  1846  Colonel  Doniphan, 
and  in  1849  Colonel  Washington,  and  in  1854 
General  Sumner  headed  expeditions  in  to  the 
Navaho  country.  In  the  years  1859  and  1860  no 
less  than  three  officers  were  charged  with  the 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  75 

task  of  bringing  them  into  subjection,  namely, 
Colonel  Miles,  Colonel  Boneville,  and  General 
Camby.  When  the  Civil  War  broke  out  and  the 
Texans  invaded  the  Navaho  country,  all  the 
Federal  soldiers  were  for  a  time  withdrawn, 
leaving  the  Navahoes  to  themselves.  During 
this  time  they  certainly  overran  the  country 
rough  shod,  pillaging  and  marauding  to  their 
hearts'  content.  In  1863  the  time  of  reckoning 
came.  Colonel  "Kit"  Carson  was  sent  by  Gen. 
Carleton  to  subdue  them.  "Kit"  was  a  soldier 
well-drilled  in  Indian  warfare,  understood  per 
fectly  the  futility  of  attempting  to  dislodge  them 
out  of  their  rocks  and  canyons,  therefore  he  ap 
plied  a  different  method.  He  sent  his  soldiers  to 
kill  their  stock  and  to  destroy  their  crops  and 
soon  the  Navahoes,  the  Bedouins  and  marauders 
of  the  American  Desert,  were  facing  starvation, 
and  the  only  escape  was  by  way  of  surrender. 
Some  7,400  were  taken  as  prisoners  and  trans 
ferred  to  Fort  Sumner  in  southeastern  New 
Mexico.  Here  they  languished  and  many  died, 
until  upon  the  treaty  concluded  with  them  by 
General  Sherman  in  1868,  they  were  permitted 
to  return  to  their  homes.  Since  that  time  their 
war-like  tendencies  have  been  broken,  and  they 
have  been  a  peaceful,  pastoral  people,  living  by, 
with  and  off  their  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats. 

We  will  conclude  this  part  of  the  Chapter  by 
introducing  to  you  the  last  great  Navaho  Chief, 
Manuelito,  born  in  1821,  and  died  in  1894.  He 


76  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

was  lithe,  muscular,  and  powerful,  of  tall  and 
commanding  figure,  with  a  strong  face,  and  eyes 
that  expressed  his  dominating  will.  He  was  a 
born  leader,  of  great  mental  power,  a  gifted 
speaker,  of  indomitable  courage,  haughty,  brave, 
proud,  and  self-possessed.  When,  as  a  young 
man,  by  skill  and  courage,  he  turned  the  tide  of 
battle,  against  the  Mexicans,  from  an  inevitable 
defeat  into  a  great  victory,  he  was  hailed  as 
Chief,  since  the  reigning  Chief  had  been  killed 
in  the  battle.  And  from  that  time  until  his  death 
Manuelito  was  the  acknowledged  and  honored 
Chief,  to  whose  almost  absolute  and  autocratic 
sway  some  thousands  of  his  tribesmen  submitted. 


A.       CUSTOMS 

WE  WILL  BEGIN  by  giving  a  brief  descrip 
tion  of  the  primitive  custom  observed  in 
marriage,  for  it  is  rather  symbolical  and  inter 
esting.  The  Navaho  does  not  sell  his  daughter 
in  marriage,  as  has  sometimes  been  supposed. 
Nay,  he  scorns  this  idea  vehemently,  but  never 
theless  in  certain  instances  it  is  hard  for  us  to 
suppress  the  thought  that  in  spite  of  all  his  prot 
estations,  the  earmarks  of  barter  are  very  evi 
dent.  The  gift  of  a  prospective  bridegroom  to 
his  bride's  mother  is  all  in  accordance  with  his 
standing  and  possessions.  Formerly  ten  horses 
were  considered  a  proper  gift  for  the  average 
Navaho,  but  today  the  poorer  classes  offer  as 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO  77 

little  as  one  or  two  horses.  It  seems  that  sheep 
are  also  given,  but  these  are  usually  butchered 
and  make  up  part  of  the  wedding  feast.  When 
the  means  allow,  the  most  elaborate  prepara 
tions  are  made  for  a  suitable  festivity.  In  the 
morning  of  the  appointed  day,  the  best7  man  or 
intermediary  of  the  bridegroom  drives  the 
horses  and  sheep  that  are  offered  and  that  have 
been  promised  as  a  gift  to  the  bride's  mother, 
over  to  the  home  and  puts  them  in  the  corral. 
Toward  evening  the  bridegroom  and  his  party 
arrives  at  the  bride's  hogan.  Both  the  bride 
groom  and  the  bride  are  dressed  in  their  very 
best,  ornamented  with  all  their  beads,  silver 
rings,  and  bracelets. 

As  a  beginning  of  the  ceremony  the  bride 
groom  enters  the  hogan,  proceeding  around  the 
south  side  of  the  fire  to  the  northwest  side,  where 
he  seats  himself  upon  the  blankets  spread  out  on 
the  earthen  floor.  Soon  the  bride,  conducted  by 
her  father  or  uncle,  enters  the  same  way  and  is 
seated  slightly  to  the  rear  at  the  right  of  the 
groom.  The  places  to  the  right  and  to  the  left 
are  now  quickly  occupied  by  the  friends  and 
relatives,  guests  of  the  family.  A  new  basket, 
or  at  least  one  which  has  not  been  used  for  a 
ceremonial  purpose,  filled  with  a  plain  cornmeal 
gruel  or  mush  is  now  placed  before  the  couple. 
Upon  this  mush  the  father  of  the  bride  first 
draws  a  line  with  white  corn  pollen  from  the 
closed  seam  pointing  to  the  east  to  the  west  end 


78  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

of  the  basket  and  then  back  again  to  the  east; 
next  with  yellow  corn  pollen,  he  draws  another 
line  from  south  to  north  and  back  again  to  south; 
finally  with  the  same  yellow  pollen  a  circle  is 
drawn  around  the  whole.  At  this  juncture  in  the 
ceremony,  a  jar  of  water  is  set  before  the  bride, 
who,  with  a  ladle,  pours  water  over  the  hands  of 
the  groom  while  he  washes  them;  then  he  per 
forms  the  same  duty  for  her.  The  bridegroom 
now  takes  a  pinch  of  the  gruel  or  mush  with  his 
fingers  from  just  where  the  line  of  pollen 
touches  the  circle  of  the  east  side;  the  bride  fol 
lows  his  example,  and  then  they  eat  it.  Again  a 
pinch  is  taken  by  the  groom,  each  time  followed 
by  the  bride,  from  the  south,  west  and  north 
sides,  every  time  from  where  the  lines  of  pollen 
touch  the  circle.  This  really  ends  the  ceremony, 
expressions  of  joy  and  happiness,  as  well  as  of 
good  and  sound  advice  are  given  to  the  newly- 
wedded  couple. 

The  guests  are  now  invited  to  partake  of  the 
feast  which  has  been  prepared,  and  the  newly- 
weds  may  either  finish  the  basket  of  mush  or  join 
with  the  others  in  the  general  feasting.  The 
basket  used  in  the  ceremony  usually  goes  to  the 
bride's  mother  who  could  not  be  present  because 
of  the  prevailing  taboo. 

The  birth  of  a  child  in  the  Navaho  home  is  an 
other  occasion  of  great  joy  and  happiness;  many 
friends  and  relatives  gather  when  a  little  one  is 
expected.  A  singer  is  engaged,  not  to  act  as  ac- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  79 

coucheur,  but  to  assist  with  songs  of  blessing.  The 
waiting  period  is  spent  with  much  taunting  and 
joking  between  the  men  and  women.  If  twins 
are  born,  this  is  not  a  matter  of  chagrin,  but  of 
genuine  pride  and  elation  to  the  parents,  who 
look  upon  it  as  a  sign  of  particular  divine  favor. 
It  is  not  true,  therefore,  as  has  been  sometimes 
said,  that  the  Navahoes  always  killed  one  of  the 
twins.  (Strange,  however,  when  twin  colts  are 
born,  it  is  considered  an  evil  omen,  and  both  the 
colts  and  the  mare  are  killed,  but  not  so  with  a 
cow.)  A  child  that  does  not  cry  or  make  a  sound 
when  it  is  born  is  considered  dead,  and  is  quickly 
disposed  of  by  casting  it  into  the  bushes  or,  as  in 
former  years,  placing  it  in  the  branches  of  a  tree, 
when  with  a  little  assistance  it  might  have  been 
saved. 

In  former  times  children,  in  order  to  harden 
them  to  the  weather  and  exposure,  were  bathed 
in  the  snow,  but  this,  with  many  other  customs 
of  former  years,  is  fast  disappearing.  But  in 
common  with  all  primitive  people,  and  even 
with  our  own  boys  and  girls,  the  Navahoes  are 
not  friends  of  soap  and  water.  Water  is  seem 
ingly  meant  only  for  drinking  and  cooking  pur 
poses,  and  not  for  cleansing  and  purifying. 
Morning  ablutions  are  of  very  recent  date  and 
introduced  by  those  who  have  attended  either  a 
Government  or  Mission  School.  The  Yucca 
head-bath  is  quite  generally  submitted  to,  how 
ever,  by  all  for  relief  against  the  irritation  of  lice 


80  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

and  vermin.  The  head  and  hair  is  scoured  with 
yucca  suds  and  dried  in  the  sun;  after  this  it  is 
brushed  with  a  whisk  made  of  mountain  grass, 
and  then  it  is  twisted  and  tied  in  a  bunch  on  the 
back  of  the  head,  where  it  is  secured  by  a  hair- 
cord. 

The  naming  of  children  is  not  a  matter  of  spe 
cial  festivity  among  the  Navahoes  as  it  is  with 
some  Indian  tribes,  but  it  is  considered  a  purely 
private  affair.  The  names  given  to  boys  and 
girls,  according  to  age-old  custom,  are  generally 
suggestive  of  war.  Rarely  are  these  given  names 
of  the  children  known  to  the  whites.  They  are 
generally  referred  to  as  the  son  or  daughter  of 
so  and  so,  and  after  marriage  the  girls  are  desig 
nated  as  the  wife  of  this  or  that  man.  It  is  also 
contrary  to  their  custom  to  address  a  person  by 
his  name,  but  they  use  a  familiar  term  of  ad 
dress,  as  my  brother,  my  friend,  and  the  like,  and 
then  the  name  of  the  party  is  probably  learned 
from  others  after  he  or  she  has  departed.  Many 
are  averse  to  revealing  the  name  of  another  in 
their  own  presence  or  hearing.  This  often  em- 
barasses  a  stranger  who  visits  the  Navahoes  and 
desires  to  know  the  names  of  those  whom  he 
meets.  By  direct  questioning  little  or  no  infor 
mation  is  to  be  obtained,  and  only  after  one  has 
learned  the  true  art  of  questioning  does  he  make 
any  progress  in  having  his  curiosity  and  inquisi- 
tiveness  satisfied. 

The  burial  custom  is  also  one  that  should  be 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  81 

of  interest  to  us,  seeing  that  the  Navahoes,  as 
almost  all  superstitious  heathen,  are  afraid  of 
the  dead.  In  former  times,  before  they  were 
subject  to  civilized  government,  slaves' were  gen 
erally  compelled  to  take  care  of  the  corpse,  and 
when  they  had  finished  the  burial  they  were 
killed  and  left  by  the  grave.  Today  it  falls  to 
the  lot  of  four  or  sometimes  only  two  of  the  near 
est  relatives  to  care  for  the  dead,  unless  they  suc 
ceed  in  getting  some  outside  party,  as  a  Mis 
sionary,  to  do  it  for  them,  something  that  is 
greatly  preferred.  The  dead,  with  his  blankets, 
belts,  rings,  bracelets  and  all  other  personal  pos 
sessions,  unless  disposed  of  before  his  death,  is 
carried  wrapped  in  a  blanket  to  a  crevice  in  a 
rock  or  some  secluded  spot  in  the  hills  offering 
facilities  for  covering  it  quickly  and  securely. 
Spades,  shovels  and  all  tools  used  at  the  burial 
are  broken  and  cast  upon  it.  In  former  times  it 
was  also  customary  to  kill  the  deceased's  best 
riding  horse,  bridled  and  saddled,  and  leave  it 
by  the  grave,  but  today  if  a  sadle  is  left,  it  is 
first  hacked  to  pieces  so  that  it  will  not  be  car 
ried  away  by  some  intruder.  If  the  deceased 
died  in  a  hogan,  something  which  is  most  often 
prevented  by  removing  the  dying  one,  it  and  all 
in  it,  such  as  pottery  and  cooking  utensils,  is  de 
stroyed.  Four  days  of  mourning  are  observed, 
during  which  the  mourners  and  members  of  the 
family  that  were  witnesses  of  the  death  or  saw 
the  corpse,  abstain  from  all  unnecessary  conver- 


82  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

sation,  amusements,  and  labor.  After  the  four 
days  the  dead  is  considered  to  belong  to  the 
spiritual  world,  the  influence  of  which  is  to  be 
dreaded. 

When  the  Navaho  still  grinds  his  own  meal, 
instead  of  using  the  American  flour  which  has 
almost  universally  been  accepted  by  them,  he  or 
rather  she,  for  it  is  the  woman  that  does  it,  per 
forms  this  in  an  old-fashioned,  laborious  way, 
A  large  and  convenient  flat  stone  is  laid  down 
and  one  of  smaller  size  is  taken,  and  being  fairly 
well  rounded,  it  rolls  easily  over  the  larger 
stone  and  the  grains,  thrown  by  handfuls  be 
tween,  is  crushed  and  ground.  The  griddle,, 
which  is  still  in  use  everywhere,  in  the  absence 
of  stoves,  for  baking  cakes  and  frying  meat,  is 
a  flat,  round  stone  placed  over  the  fire  and 
heated. 

One  of  the  most  prevalent  as  well  as  heinous 
transgressions  against  the  only  true  and  living 
God,  in  our  highly  civilized  and  cultured  coun 
try,  is  the  taking  of  His  name  in  vain.  In  mo 
ments  of  excitement  or  anger  that  sin  is  com 
mitted  by  those  of  our  people  who  have  not 
learned  to  live  and  walk  in  holy  fear  before  that 
God  who  has  so  emphatically  declared  that  He 
is  a  jealous  God,  jealous  of  His  name  and  honor, 
and  He  will  not  hold  guiltless  any  who  take 
His  name  in  vain.  This  is  one  of  our  national 
sins  and  a  sin  against  which  a  mighty  campaign 
should  be  waged  by  every  one  who  acknowledges 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO          83 

God  as  the  Author  of  our  liberty  and  the  Foun 
tain  of  all  our  blessings.  Now  we  find  something 
similar  with  our  Navahoes.  They  are  also  accus 
tomed  to  use  forceful  language  when  angry,  ex 
cited,  or  thwarted  in  their  plans.  Women  are 
just  as  voluble  as  men,  if  not  more  so.  But  this 
must  be  said  for  them,  their  expletives  and  im 
precations  are  usually  references  to  things  ta 
booed,  for  instance,  they  will  call  each  other: 
"shash"  (you  bear) ;  "ma'i"  (you  coyote) ;  "tlish 
bizede"  (you  expectoration  of  a  snake) ;  and 
many  similar  expressions  or  variations.  And, 
of  course,  against  this  th«  Missionary,  when  oc 
casion  presents  itself,  testifies,  but  how  ashamed 
and  chagrinned  he  must  feel  inwardly,  knowing 
as  he  does  that  his  own  fellow-men  continually 
use  words  which  are  a  thousand  times  more  un 
clean  and  wicked.  Let  us  all  do  what  we  can  in 
our  communities  against  the  transgression  of  the 
Third  Commandment  of  the  Holy  Law. 

Speaking  of  law  and  transgressions  naturally 
reminds  us  of  punishment,  and  in  former  times, 
we  are  informed,  severe  punishment  was  meted 
out  by  the  Navahoes  for  certain  transgressions. 
Adultery  was  originally  punished  by  amputation 
of  breasts  and  vagina,  but  this  proved  too  fatal 
to  be  continued,  and  so  instead  they  amputated 
an  ear  or  nose  or  put  out  an  eye,  after  the  man 
ner  of  the  Apaches.  Since  they  have  come  into 
contact  with  and  under  the  influence,  more  or 
less,  of  the  whites,  these  customs  have  gradually 


84  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

disappeared  and  the  only  recourse  for  the  of 
fended  party  seems  to  be  retaliation  or  divorce. 
A  heavy  fine  of  horses  and  cattle  is  levied  upon 
the  crime  of  rape,  and  is  always  exacted  by  the 
relatives,  that  is  by  the  clansmen,  of  the  victim. 


B.       LEGENDS 

TV/I  ANY  LENGTHY  MYTHS  and  legends  of  the 
^*1  Navaho  Indians  have  been  carefully  gath 
ered,  translated,  and  compiled  by  Washington 
Matthews,  M.  D.,  LL.D.,  Major  U.  S.  Army,  Ex- 
president  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society, 
etc.  With  intense  interest  we  scanned  his  vol 
ume,  Navaho  Legends,  in  which  he  describes,  in 
addition  to  two  incomplete  rite-myths,  in  all  de 
tail,  covering  a  hundred  large  pages,  the  Origin 
Legend,  divided  into  four  parts:  (1)  The  Story 
of  the  Emergence;  (2)  Early  Events  in  the  Fifth 
World;  (3)  The  War  Gods;  (4)  The  Growth  of 
the  Navaho  Nation.  The  great  difficulty  of  get 
ting  anything  like  a  true  version  of  a  legend  will 
be  felt  by  everyone  who  will  stop  for  a  moment 
to  consider  that  among  an  unlettered  people, 
thinly  scattered  over  a  wide  territory,  there  arc 
naturally  many  variants  of  every  legend.  No 
two  men  tell  the  same  story  exactly  alike,  and 
each  story-teller  generally  maintains  that  his 
version  is  the  only  reliable  one.  Variations  of 
the  Origin  Legend,  which  is  the  property  of  the 
whole  tribe,  and  unlike  the  rite-myths,  is  not  in 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  85 

the  keeping  of  any  special  order  or  priesthood, 
are  particularly  numerous.  Any  one  especially 
interested  in  the  details  of  this  legend  should  ob 
tain  the  above  mentioned  volume  from  our  Mis 
sion  Board  Library  in  charge  of  the  Secretary, 
Rev.  H.  Beets,  LL.D.,  737  Madison  Ave.,  SE., 
Grand  Rapids,  Michigan. 

We  will  not  attempt  to  make  a  synopsis  of  the 
Origin  Legend  as  given  by  Dr.  Matthews,  but 
rather  give  you  the  brief  account  of  it  as  found  in 
the  Handbook  of  American  Indians,  edited  by 
F.  W.  Hodge. 

According  to  the  best  recorded  version  of  their 
origin  legend,  the  first  or  nuclear  clan  of  the 
Navahoes  was  created  by  the  gods  in  Arizona 
or  Utah  about  five  hundred  years  ago.  People 
had  lived  on  earth  before  this,  but  most  of  them 
had  been  destroyed  by  giants  or  demons.  When 
the  myth  says  that  the  gods  created  the  first  pair 
of  this  clan,  it  is  equivalent  to  saying  that  they 
know  not  whence  they  came  and  have  no  ante 
cedent  tradition  of  themselves.  The  story  gives 
the  impression  that  these  Indians  wandered  into 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona  in  small  groups,  prob 
ably  in  single  families.  In  the  course  of  time 
other  groups  joined  them,  until  in  the  seven 
teenth  century,  they  felt  strong  enough  to  go  to 
war.  The  accessions  were  from  different  stocks, 
consequently  the  Navahoes  are  a  very  composite 
people.  Their  appearance  also  strengthens  this 
traditional  evidence  of  their  origin.  It  is  simply 


86  BRINGING      THE       GOSPEL 

impossible  to  describe  a  prevailing  type;  they 
vary  in  size  from  stalwart  men  of  six  feet  or 
more  to  some  who  are  diminutive  in  stature.  In 
feature  they  vary  from  the  strong  faces  with 
acquiline  noses  and  prominent  chins,  common 
with  the  Dakotas  and  other  northern  tribes,  to 
the  subdued  features  of  the  Pueblos.  Their  faces 
are  also  a  little  more  hirsute  than  those  of  In 
dians  farther  East.  Many  have  very  flattened 
occiputs,  a  feature  resulting  most  likely  from 
the  hard  cradle-board  on  which  the  head  rests 
in  infancy.  There  is  nothing  somber  or  stoic  in 
their  character.  Among  themselves  they  are 
merry  and  jovial,  much  given  to  jest  and  banter. 
At  first  acquaintance,  however,  they  are  silent 
and  seemingly  unfriendly,  to  a  stranger,  but  on 
closer  acquaintance  they  are  found  to  possess  a 
great  store  of  humor,  and  a  cheerful  as  well  as 
happy  disposition.  The  proudest  among  them 
does  not  scorn  remunerative  labor.  They  do  not 
bear  pain  with  the  fortitude  displayed  among 
the  militant  tribes  of  the  North,  nor  do  they 
inflict  upon  themselves  equal  tortures. 

Some  years  ago  we  were  told  an  interesting 
legend  about  why  they,  the  Navahoes,  live  in  the 
arid  and  barren  region  of  the  Southwest,  and 
have  never  sought  to  find  a  better  locality.  In 
former  times  they  lived  to  the  far,  far  North, 
but  they  were  not  a  strong  people  and  were  sur 
rounded  by  great  giants  who  continually  perse 
cuted  them.  In  their  distress  thy  cried  to  the 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO          87 

gods,  who  answered  their  cry  by  telling  them  to 
flee  to  a  certain  rock  which  could  be  seen  from 
their  homes.  They  obeyed  the  gods,  fled  to  the 
designated  rock,  and  when  they  were  all  gath 
ered  on  it,  it  began  to  move  across  the  country 
toward  the  South.  While  thus  traveling  they 
saw  beautiful  fields  and  rivers,  valleys  and  prai 
ries  and  plains  where  they  would  have  been  glad 
to  settle  and  reside,  but  the  rock  upon  which 
they  had  taken  refuge  did  not  stop  until  it 
reached  the  vicinity  of  their  present  homes.  They 
are  living,  therefore,  in  the  place  where  the  gods 
sent  them,  and  if  they  should  seek  a  more  ac 
ceptable  country  they  would  do  so  in  disobe 
dience  to  the  gods  and  consequently  could  not 
expect  their  help  and  blessings.  This  rock,  upon 
which  they  escaped  from  the  giants,  is  the  same 
rock  we  see  from  Toadlena,  standing  out  by  it 
self  and  called  Ship-rock.  A  second  version  of 
this  same  legend  says  it  was  a  big  bird  upon 
whose  wings  they  were  carried  from  the  North 
to  the  South,  and  that  this  bird  turned  to  stone 
wrhen  it  had  accomplished  its  task,  to  be  a  per 
petual  reminder  unto  them  of  what  the  gods  had 
done  for  them,  and  therefore  this  rock  is  called 
and  known  by  them  as  the  Winged  Rock. 

There  is  also  a  legend  about  the  division  of  the 
year  into  twelve  months.  The  coyote,  a  sacred 
animal,  recognized  by  the  Navaho  for  his  great 
sagacity  and  wisdom,  was  consulted  by  the  gods 
concerning  the  dividing  of  the  year  into  twelve 


88  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

parts.  He  intimated  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  of 
assigning  twelve  months  each  to  the  earth  and 
sky,  who  stand  in  the  relation  of  man  and  wife 
to  each  other.  The  sky  is  considered  to  be  the 
male,  the  earth  the  female,  the  mother  of  all 
living,  because  in  addition  to  being  the  habita 
tion  of  man,  she  produces  all  life,  plant,  min 
eral,  and  animal.  Because  of  the  coyote's  doubt 
the  gods  gave  six  months  to  the  sky  for  winter 
and  six  months  to  the  earth  for  summer.  There 
arose  contentions  about  the  exact  period  of  the 
first  month  and  consequently  it  is  known  as 
"ghaji"  (back  to  back),  when  the  snow  of  win 
ter  and  the  warmth  of  summer  meet,  they  turn 
their  backs  to  each  other  and  the  one  proceeds, 
while  the  other  retraces  its  steps. 


C.       SUPERSTITIONS 

TN  THE  SELF-SAME  HOUR  that  the  human 
•1  family,  in  Adam,  became  guilty  of  apostacy, 
it  not  only  lost  the  true  knowledge  of  God,  but 
became  a  victim  of  superstition.  In  the  state  of 
righteousness  the  whole  heart  of  man  rested  in 
his  God.  To  serve  that  God  was  his  all  and  all, 
his  desire,  his  purpose,  his  joy.  That  God  he 
knew  as  the  Infinite,  Omniscient,  Omnipotent, 
the  Architect  and  Ruilder  of  all  creation,  and 
who,  by  His  all-wise  Providence,  according  to  a 
predetermined  purpose  ruled  and  governed  all 
things.  In  this  blessed  state  there  was  no  place 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO          89 

for  faith  in  a  secret,  mysterious  power  besides  or 
above  God.  That  came  the  very  moment  that 
man,  thru  wilful  disobedience,  forsook  his  God. 
Instead  of  rest  and  peace  there  came  immedi 
ately  unrest  and  tumult  in  his  heart  and  life,  and 
he  being  afraid  to  face  the  God  against  Whom 
he  had  transgressed,  he  sought  refuge  against 
the  wrath  of  that  offended  God  in  various  sub 
terfuges.  Instead  of  faith  in  God  there  came 
superstition.  These  two  stand  related  to  each 
other  as  health  to  sickness.  Superstition  has 
correctly  been  designated  the  caricature  of  true 
faith,  and  the  quasi-religious  phenomena  ac 
companying  and  flowing  forth  out  of  supersti 
tion,  the  bastard  forms  of  true  religion.  To  un 
derstand  the  nature  of  superstition  we  must  first 
know  what  the  real  essence  is  of  true  faith. 
Whereas  faith  consists  first  of  all  in  a  knowledge 
of  the  true  and  eternal,  living  God,  according  to 
His  own  revelation  in  His  Word,  superstition 
mocks  and  ridicules  this  and  rejects  both  the 
fountain  and  essence  of  the  knowledge  of  that 
God.  They  have  this  in  common,  however,  that 
they  both  consider  the  metaphysical  and  super 
natural,  but  the  difference  in  the  method  of  con 
sideration  is  indeed  great.  They  differ,  as  far 
as  the  East  is  from  the  West,  in  both  contents 
and  purpose.  The  highest  desire  and  purpose 
of  faith  is  to  know  God  in  His  love  and  out  of 
love  to  live  for  Him,  but  in  superstition  all  love 
is  lacking,  and  the  purpose  is  to  bring  all  the 


90  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

powers  of  the  supernatural  into  subjection  and 
make  them  serve  unto  the  satisfaction  of  our 
curiosity,  the  gratification  of  the  lusts  and  pas 
sions  of  our  flesh,  and  in  every  way  to  benefit 
and  profit  us  in  this  present  life.  True  faith  and 
superstition  consequently  exclude  each  other. 
Anyone  who  truly  believes  in  God,  the  Creator 
and  Preserver  of  all  things,  in  Whom  we  live 
and  move  and  have  our  being,  Who  is  transcen 
dent  above  and  imminent  in  the  world,  with 
Whom  a  whole  nation  is  less  than  a  drop  of  wa 
ter  on  the  bucket  or  the  small  dust  of  me  bal 
ance;  such  a  one  cannot  be  superstitious.  Our 
superstition,  therefore,  testifies  and  witnesses  to 
the  lack  or  weakness  of  our  faith.  This  can  also 
easily  be  verified  by  any  one  who  cares  to  make 
the  test.  Who  are  they,  who  are  alarmed  and 
frightened  by  phenomena  in  nature?  Not  they 
who  truly  believe  and  trust  in  the  God  Who 
stands  above  nature !  Who  are  they  who  believe 
in  bad  omens,  the  hooting  of  an  owl,  the  barking 
or  howling  of  a  dog  after  dark,  etc.?  Not  the 
children  of  the  heavenly  Father,  who  have  in 
trusted  their  all  to  His  keeping  and  who  have 
learned  to  say:  "I  know  in  whom  I  have  be 
lieved,  and  am  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to  keep 
that  which  I  have  entrusted  unto  him  against 
that  day!"  Who  are  they  who  believe  in  the 
signs  and  tokens  of  good  luck,  the  finding  of  a 
horse-shoe,  the  seeing  of  a  white  horse  and  a 
red-haired  girl  at  the  same  time,  etc.?  Not  they 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  91 

who  believe  in  the  Father  of  light,  from  Whom 
descendeth  all  good  and  perfect  gifts ! 

The  ramifications  and  products  of  superstition 
are  simply  too  numerous  to  mention,  and  as  to 
its  harmful  effects  in  the  history  of  the  children 
of  men,  we  can  give  only  the  merest  suggestion. 
It  has  sacrificed  countless  lives,  wasted  untold 
treasures,  embroiled  nations,  severed  friends, 
parted  husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  chil 
dren,  putting  swords,  and  more  than  swords, 
between  them.  It  has  filled  jails  and  mad 
houses  with  its  innocent  or  deluded  victims,  and 
it  has  broken  many  hearts,  embittered  the 
whole  of  many  a  life,  or,  not  content  with  per 
secuting  the  living,  it  has  pursued  the  dead  into 
the  grave  and  beyond  it,  gloating  over  the  hor 
rors  which  its  foul  imagination  has  conjured  up 
to  appal  and  torture  the  survivors.  Let  no  one, 
therefore,  mock  and  ridicule  this  mighty  weapon 
in  the  hand  of  and  wielded  by  the  prince  of  this 
wrorld.  In  a  most  tempting,  alluring,  amusing 
way  he  seeks  entrance  for  this  mighty  power, 
to  conquer  and  drive  out  faith.  We  may  laugh 
in  amusement  at  a  company  of  younger  or  older 
friends  engaged  in  asking  the  Ouija  Board  to 
answer  their  earnest  or  foolish  questions,  but  let 
us  not  forget,  it  is  playing  with  fire.  And  they 
that  play  with  fire  may  get  burned.  No  earnest 
observer  or  student  of  the  times  is  ignorant  of 
the  fact  that  in  our  day,  while  spiritual  life  runs 
at  a  very  low  ebb  and  the  simple  faith  in  Jesus 


92  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Christ  is  on  the  wane,  many,  yes  many,  of  whom 
we  would  not  expect  it  at  all,  are  turning  to 
divination,  fetishism,  palmistry,  sorcery,  spirit 
ualism  or  something  else  which  are  but  some  of 
the  many  ramifications  of  superstition. 

Whereas  true  faith  in  the  living  God  and 
superstition  exclude  each  other,  it  is  very  evi 
dent  that  among  all  nations  and  peoples  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  only  true  and  living  God 
superstition  finds  a  very  fertile  soil.  Therefore, 
also  the  Navahoes  as  well  as  the  Zunies,  with 
whom  we  are  concerned  in  this  book,  are  very 
superstitious.  We  can  only  give  a  few  examples 
with  the  hope  that  it  may  strengthen  the  desire 
in  us  to  help  drive  out  this  unclean  spirit  by 
making  known  unto  them  the  God  in  Whom  we 
believe,  so  that  they,  believing  in  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Saviour,  may  also  be  delivered  from  the 
dense  darkness,  ignorance,  and  blighting  influ 
ences  of  superstition.  "What  joy  there  will  be 
in  heaven  when  the  broom  of  the  Gospel  brings 
from  these  people,  in  truth,  the  lost  coins  of  the 
King's  treasury.  His  image  has  been  marred 
beyond  recognition  by  the  rust  and  dust  of  sin, 
but  they  will  be  recast  and  restamped,  thus  be 
coming  rich  trophies  of  His  grace." 

"There  is  an  unyielding  superstition  among 
the  Navahoes  that  a  hut,  camp  or  anything  else 
they  may  be  living  in  when  a  death  occurs  in  the 
family  is  thereafter  polluted  by  death.  The 
dwelling  in  it  of  an  unclean  spirit  makes  it,  ac- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  93 

cording  to  their  ideas,  exceedingly  dangerous. 
This  is  doubtless  a  strong  check  on  any  ambition 
to  put  much  money  or  labor  into  a  permanent 
dwelling.  The  Navaho  country  is  dotted  every 
where  with  remaining  evidences  of  this  super 
stition.  Fear  of  death  and  dread  of  evil  spirits 
are  spectres  of  terror  to  them.  Strong  belief  in 
witchcraft  and  in  spirit  manifestations  makes 
them  vie  well  with  the  modern  devotees  of  spir 
itualism,  which  originates  from  one  and  the 
same  foul  source.  The  deification,  as  occasion 
may  require  it,  of  nearly  every  beastly  object 
known  to  them,  stamps  their  belief  as  not  only 
primitive,  but  pagan  from  start  to  finish,  no 
where  more  fitting  and  accurately  described 
than  in  Romans  1 :  19-31." — BUTLER. 

All  sicknesses  and  diseases  are  considered  to 
be  caused  by  the  indwelling  of  evil  spirits,  and 
therefore  the  remedies  applied  are  also  for  the 
purpose  of  driving  out  the  spirit  that  is  causing 
the  trouble.  For  this  purpose  they  have  sings, 
and  sand-paintings,  and  sweat  baths,  etc.  The 
professions  of  Priest  and  Physician  are  conse 
quently  combined  in  one  person,  the  Medicine 
Man.  These  medicine  men  are  considered  of 
great  importance,  and  they  have  the  knack  and 
audacity  of  making  the  Navahoes  pay  dearly  for 
their  services.  We  are  told  the  following  story 
to  illustrate  that  these  medicine  men  are  not 
always  honest  in  their  dealings  with  their  own 
people.  There  had  been  a  great  drought  for 


94  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

some  time  and  the  Navahoes  were  very  anx 
ious  for  rain.  They  desired  the  medicine  man  to 
make  a  prayer  for  this  purpose,  which  he  wa » 
not  unwilling  to  do,  but  it  would  cost  a  consid 
erable  amount,  seeing  that  in  this  case  the  prayer 
to  bring  the  desired  rain  would  have  to  consist 
of  a  certain  amount  of  the  very  finest  turquoise 
ground  to  pieces.  The  natives  produced  the  stip 
ulated  price  and  the  medicine  man  alone  re 
paired  to  the  mountain  shrine  to  make  the  prom 
ised  prayer.  The  Missionary  stationed  at  this 
particular  place,  knowing  the  medicine  man, 
had  his  doubts  whether  he  really  did  what  he 
was  paid  to  do  and  therefore  the  following  day 
he  clambered  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  found 
the  prayer,  scooped  it  together  and  took  it  with 
him.  Having  descended  the  mountain  he  went 
to  the  trading-store  and  there  showed  the  trader 
and  some  lounging  Indians  what  he  had  found 
on  top  of  the  mountain.  The  following  morning 
before  he  and  his  family  had  finished  their 
breakfast,  the  mission-yard  was  full  of  excited 
Indians,  headed  by  the  medicine  man,  volubly 
accusing  the  missionary  of  interfering  with  the 
prayer  and  demanding,  that  because  he  had 
made  it  worthless,  he  should  reimburse  the  In 
dians  what  they  had  paid  for  it.  But  when  he, 
the  missionary,  proposed  to  have  the  turquoise 
examined  by  an  expert  authority  in  order  to  de 
termine  its  value,  the  medicine  man  suddenly 
became  aware  that  in  case  that  was  done  his 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO  95 

deception  would  be  brought  to  light  and  he  lose 
his  hold  upon  the  people.  To  escape  a  bad  situ 
ation  he  peremptorily  left  the  Mission,  hurling 
anathemas  upon  the  missionary  and  his  work. 
The  latter,  however,  grasped  the  opportunity  to 
point  out  to  the  Indians  the  utter  foolishness  of 
the  medicine  man's  service  as  well  as  his  ap 
parent  dishonesty. 

The  Navahoes  are  also  superstitious  in  the 
face  of  phenomena  in  nature.  For  instance,  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun  or  moon  is  considered  to  be 
caused  by  the  death  of  the  orb,  which  after  a 
little  while  is  revived  again  by  the  immortal 
bearers  of  the  sun  and  moon.  If  there  is  an 
eclipse  of  the  moon,  the  whole  family,  if  asleep, 
is  awakened;  if  an  eclipse  of  the  sun,  then  work 
or  whatever  they  may  be  engaged  with  ceases, 
and  the  recovery  is  awaited  in  silence.  To  have 
a  ceremony  in  progress  during  an  eclipse  is  con 
sidered  very  inauspicious  and  is  therefore  gener 
ally  deferred  on  that  account. 

We  have  all  heard  and  read  of  the  superstition 
pertaining  to  the  relation  of  son-in-law  Nto 
mother-in-law.  These  two  may  not  meet  or  see 
each  other,  for  if  that  should  happen,  blindness 
will  result.  Whereas  they  often  live  in  the  same 
camp,  it  calls  for  a  continual  watchfulness  not 
only  on  the  part  of  the  persons  concerned,  but  on 
the  part  of  all  the  folks  in  the  camp,  that  the  two 
separated  ones  may  not  meet  and  see  one  an 
other.  If  a  man  marries  the  daughter  of  his 


96  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

wife,  which  not  infrequently  takes  place,  thus 
his  wife  also  becoming  his  mother-in-law,  then 
this  taboo  does  not  hold. 

To  mention  no  further  examples  of  supersti 
tion,  we  will  close  this  Chapter  by  referring  to 
the  fact  that  the  Navahoes  also  refrain  from 
eating  certain  foods  because  of  superstitious 
fear.  For  instance,  waterfowls,  and  shore  birds, 
with  the  exception  of  the  turtle-dove,  are  con 
sidered  sacred,  and  therefore  not  eaten.  Chick 
ens  are  not  kept  because  the  Navaho  does  not 
care  to  eat  the  eggs.  They  also  refuse  to  eat 
fish  on  the  ground  that  they  belonged  to  the 
people  of  the  eleventh  world  in  the  emergence, 
and  therefore  are  to  be  considered  among  their 
ancestors. 

High  and  strong  are  these  walls  of  Navaho 
superstition,  and  not  many  indications  of 
crumbling  have  thus  far  appeared,  but  the  mis 
sionaries  on  the  field,  at  the  front,  in  the  midst 
of  the  fight,  are  not  in  any  way  discouraged,  for 
they  believe  in  Him,  Who  is  not  only  able  to  give 
the  victory,  but  Who  has  also  promised  it  unto 
His  own  who  prove  faithful  and  true  to  the  com 
mission  upon  which  they  have  been  sent  forth. 
For  this  victory  and  triumph  over  the  darkness 
of  death  they  continue  to  pray,  to  labor,  and  to 
hope,  assured  that  in  God's  own  time  they  are 
going  to  reap  if  they  faint  not. 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO  97 

( 

V. 
REHOBOTH,  NEW  MEXICO 

IN  OBEYING  the  Master,  the  Church  has 
learned  that  the  Great  Commission  does  not 
only  call  for  evangelization,  preaching,  but  that 
also  teaching  and  healing  are  to  be  used  as  hand 
maidens  in  bringing  the  Gospel  to  the  nations. 
To  reach  the  Navahoes  with  the  glad  tidings  this 
was  also  soon  discovered.  Therefore,  in  the 
year  1903,  the  Church  purchased  a  squatter's 
claim,  that  was  locally  known  as  Smith's  Ranch, 
about  six  miles  east  of  Gallup,  N.  M.,  and  there 
founded  the  first  Christian  Reformed  Mission 
Boarding  School  for  the  children  of  Navaho  In 
dians.  Mindful  of  the  encroachments  upon  our 
privileges  and  liberties  endured  at  Fort  De 
fiance,  this  infant  institution  was  christened  "Re- 
hoboth"  (the  Lord  hath  made  room).  It  is  lo 
cated  on  the  main  line  of  the  great  transconti 
nental  railroad,  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa 
Fe,  and  for  the  benefit  of  those  of  our  people 
who  travel  on  this  road  to  sunny  California,  a 
signboard  has  been  erected  facing  the  railroad, 
and  bearing,  in  large  black  letters,  the  informa 
tion:  Rehoboth  Mission  School  and  Hospital, 
Christian  Reformed  Church. 

The  first  class  in  this  school  consisted  of  four 
boys  and  two  girls,  and  the  mother-teacher  of 


98  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

this  little  group  was  Mrs.  Nellie  Noordhof  Van 
der  Wagen.  The  number  of  scholars  gradually 
increased  from  year  to  year,  and  whereas  at 
first  it  was  rather  a  difficult  matter  to  persuade 
a  Navaho  parent  to  send  his  child  to  this  school 
with  the  promise  of  allowing  him  to  remain  un 
til  he  was  educated  or  had  reached  the  age  of 
about  eighteen  years,  during  the  last  few  years 
it  has  not  been  possible  to  accept  all  who  ap 
plied  for  admission.  Some  parents  even  desired 
to  have  the  names  of  their  children  enrolled  on 
a  waiting-list,  so  that  as  soon  as  there  was  a 
vacancy,  their  child  might  be  admitted.  But 
since  the  two  dormitories  have  been  built  to 
house  fifty  children  each,  and  the  dining-room 
of  the  Mission  House  has  been  equipped  for  one 
hundred,  that  is  the  number  of  scholars  that  can 
now  be  cared  for  at  this  school.  Employees  have 
also  been  engaged  accordingly:  three  teachers, 
two  matrons,  two  housekeeper-cooks,  one  seam 
stress  and  one  laundress.  It  would  not  be  a  very 
difficult  matter,  however,  to  double  or  even 
triple  the  number  of  scholars,  but  that  would 
mean  also  the  doubling  or  tripling  of  the  finan 
cial  support  that  would  necessarily  have  to  be 
given.  At  present  the  cost  of  supporting  a  child 
is  one  hundred  and  eighty  dollars  annually,  and 
that  really  only  takes  care  of  the  housing,  board 
and  clothing,  while  all  the  salaries  of  the  em 
ployees  are  paid  out  of  the  General  Fund  of  our 
Heathen  Missions.  Instead  of  having  the  various 


IN      HOG  AN      AND      PUEBLO          99 

.Sunday  Schools  and  Societies  support  a  certain 
child,  as  has  been  the  custom  up  till  now,  the 
Mission  is  attempting  to  obtain  pledges  of  these 
organizations  for  a  certain  sum  annually  for  the 
support  of  the  whole  institution,  for  it  happens 
quite  frequently  that  after  a  certain  boy  or  girl 
is  assigned  to  a  Sunday  School  or  Society,  that 
particular  child,  because  of  sickness  or  some 
other  reason,  is  removed  from  the  school  and 
another  comes  in  to  take  the  vacant  place,  and 
consequently  a  great  amount  of  corresponding 
back  and  forth  must  be  done  to  iron  out  the 
change  that  has  taken  place. 

While  in  the  Reservation  Indian  schools,  es 
tablished  and  financed  by  the  Government,  the 
children  receive  on  an  average  nothing  higher 
than  a  fourth,  or  at  best  in  a  few  instances  a  fifth 
grade  education,  our  Rehoboth  school  is  giving 
to  all  who  are  able  to  carry  it,  an  eight-grade 
course.  Several  graduates  of  the  school  have 
submitted  to  and  have  been  successful  in  pass 
ing  the  regular  County  examination.  In  a  few 
cases  instruction  has  even  been  given  in  the  reg 
ular  branches  of  a  first  year  High  School  course. 
As  a  fruit  of  this  the  Rehoboth  graduates  on  the 
Reservation  can  easily  hold  their  own  with  those 
who  have  attended  any  of  the  Government 
schools. 

It  is  understood,  of  course,  that  all  instruction 
is  given  in  the  English  language,  for  that  is  some 
thing  the  Government  requires.  Nevertheless, 
all  the  various  branches  at  this  Mission  School 


100          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

are  taught  in  the  light  of  the  Word  of  God,  for 
the  Bible,  from  Genesis  to  Revelation,  is  ac 
knowledged  by  the  teachers  and  all  the  other 
employees  as  the  only  infallible  rule  and  meas 
ure  of  faith  and  life.  All  this  and  more  you  will 
find  more  clearly  and  definitely  stated  and  ex 
plained  in  the  following  from  the  pen  of  the 
Rev.  J.  W.  Brink,  Missionary-Pastor  of  the 
Rehoboth  Mission.  Rev.  Brink,  after  several 
years  of  experience  in  the  regular  ministry  of 
our  churches,  felt  constrained  to  take  up  this 
work  among  the  Navahoes.  He  entered  the  field, 
sent  forth  and  supported  by  the  Eastern  Avenue 
.church  of  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  in  1912,  and 
since  that  time  has  been  actively  engaged  in  the 
work.  Whole-heartedly  has  he  and  his  good 
wife  given  themselves  to  the  cause.  We  surmise 
that  sometimes  there  is  a  heartache  when  in  the 
evening  they  sit  together  in  their  New  Mexico 
home  and  think  about  their  children  far  from 
home  and  the  parents'  care  in  order  to  obtain 
an  education.  That  is  probably  one  of  the  most 
difficult  matters  for  a  Missionary,  when  his  chil 
dren  are  of  that  age  when  they  especially  have 
need  of  the  parents'  care  and  watchfulness,  they 
must  be  sent  from  home  in  order  that  they  may 
obtain  more  education  than  is  to  be  had  on  the 
field.  The  Church  that  sends  out  men  and  wo 
men  into  such  places  with  the  Gospel,  should 
assuredly  reckon  with  this.  Let  us  remember 
not  only  Brother  and  Mrs.  Brink,  but  all  our 
Missionaries  in  our  prayers  to  the  Throne  aboveX 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO         iQl 

BRINGING  THE  GOSPEL  TO  THE  NAVAHO 
AT  A  MISSION  BOARDING  SCHOOL 


REV.  J.  W.  BRINK,  Missionary-Pastor,  Rehoboth,  N.  M. 

IT  MAY  not  be  known  to  every  reader  just  what 
a  Mission  Boarding  School  is.  Commonly  the 
term  describes  an  institution  for  heathen  chil 
dren  of  either  or  both  sexes,  where  they  are 
wholly  supported  a  certain  number  of  months  or 
the  whole  year.  The  exalted  purpose  of  such  a 
School  is  to  give  the  children  a  Christian  train 
ing  and  education,  that  they  may,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  grow  up  to  be  Christians  and  honorable 
citizens,  showing  forth  the  redeeming  love  of 
God  in  Christ  Jesus,  thru  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
serving  as  means  in  the  providence  of  the  Lord 
to  lead  their  people  to  Christ,  the  Church  and 
Christian  living.  As  a  rule  everything  is  pro 
vided  free  of  charge,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
and  in  obedience  to  His  great  Commission.  Such 
schools  there  are  many  thruout  heathendom 
where  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  seeking  and 
gaining  a  foothold. 

Rehoboth,  considered  as  a  Mission  simply,  is  a 
Mission  Boarding  School,  furnishing  such  an 
education  to  boys  and  girls  of  the  Navaho  Indian 
trible.  From  it  the  Gospel  radiates  for  miles 
around  to  the  Navaho  living  on  or  off  the  Reser 
vation.  The  one  all-absorbing  task  is  the  bring 
ing  of  the  Gospel  of  salvation  thru  faith  only  to 
children  and  adults.  Our  chief  concern  in  this 


102          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

writing  is  to  set  forth  in  what  manner  this  is  done 
to  the  pupils  of  the  School,  and  to  such  Navaho 
as  tarry  for  a  shorter  or  longer  period  at  this 
post.  Nothing  will  be  said  touching  the  field  la 
bors  of  Mr.  William  Mierop,  missionary  for 
campwork  exclusively,  rich  and  edifying  though 
the  material  is,  since  this  would  be  going  beyond 
the  subject  assigned  to  me. 

Before  going  further  it  will  be  well  to  remind 
that  Rehoboth  is  also  the  official  name  of  a  con 
gregation  of  our  Church,  worshipping  in  the 
chapel  at  this  post.  It  consists  largely  of  young 
people  who  have  been  led  to  Christ  Jesus  thru 
the  labors  of  missionaries  at  Government 
Schools  and  here.  It  was  originally  organized  at 
Fort  Defiance  and  when  our  Church  relinquished 
that  important  and  promising  part  of  the  Nav 
aho  mission  field,  it  finally  settled  at  Rehoboth. 
Hence  the  ordained  Gospel  laborer  at  this  place 
functions  in  a  twofold  relation:  he  is  the  mis 
sionary  to  the  Navaho  and  the  pastor  to  the  con 
gregation.  In  the  latter  capacity  the  Eastern 
Avenue  congregation,  whose  missionary  he  is, 
"loaned"  his  services  to  this  little  group  of  Chris 
tians.  Hence  the  title:  Missionary-Pastor. 

An  important  part  of  the  work  at  Rehoboth  is 
the  preaching  of  the  Word  on  the  Lord's  Day  and 
other  occasions,  to  all  who  gather  in  the  chapel. 
This  gathering  ordinarily  consists  of  pupils  of 
the  school  and  the  workers.  Oft  there  is  a  visitor 
or  two.  The  language  used  is  the  English,  as  we 


104          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

have  not  been  enabled  to  have  Indians  from  sur 
rounding  camps  attend  our  meetings  for  wor 
ship,  altho  we  repeatedly  invite  and  urge.  Should 
at  some  future  time  interest  develop  in  this  di 
rection,  and  the  attendance  warrant  it,  we  shall 
then  make  arrangements  which  will  bring  them 
the  Gospel  in  their  own  language.  The  larger 
pupils  and  workers  worship  twice,  the  little  boys 
and  girls  once  every  Sabbath.  And  our  chapel 
is  almost  filled  to  its  limits.  When  there  is 
company  it  is  uncomfortably  full. 

This  preaching  is  the  most  difficult  task  the 
minister  has.  A  moment's  reflection  will  con 
vince  a  doubter  of  this.  The  Word  of  God  is  to 
l>e  brought  to  children,  lads  and  lassies  and 
youths  but  the  slightest  removed  from  heathen 
dom,  at  best  only  beginning  to  be  founded  on  the 
infallible  Word  of  God  and  at  the  worst  wholly 
unacquainted  with,  maybe  indifferent  to  it  and 
the  salvation  it  offers  without  money  and  with 
out  price.  A  common  characteristic  of  all,  with 
a  possible  exception,  is  the  preference  to  be  else 
where  much  rather  than  at  school.  This  (need 
it  be  said?)  has  its  effects  on  the  spirit  in  which 
meetings  for  divine  worship  are  attended.  And 
it  does  not  tend  to  its  advantage.  It  is  but  fair  to 
say,  however,  and  we  do  it  with  thanks  to  the 
Lord  and  in  appreciation  of  our  boys  and  girls, 
the  spirit  of  attendance  is  improving  year  by 
year.  The  first  year  of  our  work  here  it  not  in 
frequently  happened  that  our  Principal,  Mr. 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         ]Q5 

Gerrit  Heusinkveld  (now  M.  D.),  would  look 
over  the  meeting,  leave  the  school-room  and 
soon  return  with  one  or  more  of  the  larger  boys, 
whom  he  had  called  or  drawn  out  from  their 
hiding-place,  generally  under  the  bed  in  the 
dormitory.  This  is  wholly  a  thing  of  the  past. 
And  we  challenge  any  congregation  to  show  a 
group  of  children  and  youth  as  well-behaved  as 
our  pupils  generally  are. 

Our  little  ones  understand  but  little  of  the 
English  language.  It  is  surprising,  however,  the 
evidity  with  which  they  apply  themselves  to  rem 
edying  this  lack,  and  the  speed  with  which  they 
reach  this  laudable  object.  Could  we  only  get 
the  use  of  their  tongue  as  readily!  Those  who 
are  older  and  more  advanced,  while  not  exactly 
at  home  in  the  language  of  the  land,  have  made 
gratifying  progress  in  this  respect,  which  en 
ables  them  to  follow  the  discourse  if  couched  in 
simple  words  and  handling  the  truth  plainly  and 
practically.  They  oft  encourage  the  preacher  by 
their  attention  and  remarks  after  their  return 
from  worship.  Among  them  is  a  sprinkling  of 
girls,  who  have  confessed  Jesus  as  their  Saviour 
and  who  have  attained  to  some  practical  knowl 
edge  of  the  truth,  in  whose  heart  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  laboring  on,  enlightening  the  eyes  of  their 
mind  and  applying  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ 
Jesus.  Frequently  they  will  ask  their  matron  to 
repeat  something  that  was  said  and  to  explain 
what  was  not  comprehended.  And  then  one 


106          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

finds  that  they  have  much  the  same  difficulties 
that  other  young  people  have  in  comprehending 
Scripture  and  applying  it  to  life,  only  more  so. 
But  it  also  appears  that  the  Holy  Spirit  can  open 
their  eyes  and  give  them  visions  of  spiritual 
things,  create  and  strengthen  spiritual  longings 
in  their  hearts,  as  well  as  He  can  and  does  in  the 
case  of  others.  Still,  it  must  be  ever  kept  in 
mind :  getting  down  to  the  level  of  young  people 
found  in  our  congregations  is  not  enough  here; 
the  minister  must  get  down  below  that  many  a 
foot,  and  then  even  he  may  not  get  down  to  a 
level  low  enough  to  reach  them  as  he  would.  But 
be  patient,  give  our  Navaho  boys  and  girls  an 
adequate  chance,  continue  the  instruction  of  our 
Navaho  brethren  and  sisters  in  the  Lord,  and 
future  generations  will  demonstrate  that  many 
of  our  beloved  Brownies  are  not  one  whit  be 
hind  the  more  favored  Americans  in  ability  to 
learn  and  put  into  practice. 

Sometimes  humorous  applications  are  made 
to  something  heard  while  at  "church."  A  while 
ago  baskets  were  put  up  for  basketball.  The 
next  day  it  blew  a  gale,  down  went  both  sup 
ports,  altho  of  generous  proportions.  Along 
came  one  of  our  younger  girls,  with  a  few  com 
panions.  The  company  stopped  and  viewed  th 
ruin  wrought.  As  they  turned  away  tb  j  ]e?u!.'t 
said:  "And  it  was  built  upon  a  roc] -•."  (?.IaUn. 
7:  25.)  One  day  the  older  lads  were  Learning 
in  a  carload  of  hay.  Some  riding  on  the  load, 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         107 

others  walking.  At  the  barn  the  driver  was  slow 
in  getting  down,  too  slow  to  suit  one  of  the  fel 
lows.  This  boy  cried  out  to  him:  "Zaccheus, 
make  haste  and  come  down."  (Luke  19 :  5.) 

Part  of  the  Sunday  congregation  consists  of 
Christian  men  and  women,  who  have  come  from 
East  and  West,  North  and  South,  to  labor  in  this 
part  of  the  harvest  in  various  capacities.  This 
complicates  preaching  matters  for  the  mission 
ary,  since  he  must  also  keep  these  in  mind  when 
preparing  and  delivering  the  Message.  All  are 
willing  "to  take  what  the  children  get,"  all  urge 
him  to  "think  of  the  children  first,"  and  express 
themselves  satisfied  if  these  "get  it."  And  they 
pray  for  the  preacher  that  the  Lord  may  enable 
him  to  minister  to  the  children  according  to  their 
ability  to  hear  the  truth.  Still,  all  of  these  have 
their  spiritual  needs,  must,  while  here,  also  grow 
in  the  grace  and  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  may  not  be  treated  as  children,  which 
could  have  a  stunting  effect  upon  their  spiritual 
life  and  serviceability.  Therefore  the  preach 
ing  must  bring  to  them  the  bread  of  life  suitable 
to  them.  At  the  least,  an  effort  to  do  so  must  be 
prayerfully  and  honestly  made. 

I  might  yet  add  that  our  Sabbath  meetings  are 
congregational,  that  is,  it  is  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  at  this  place,  which  meets  for  worship, 
not  a  mixed  concourse  of  people.  Therefore  we 
have  everything  pertaining  to  the  assembly  ar 
ranged  on  that  basis.  This  is  at  once  an  educa- 


108          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

tion  to  the  "school"  in  matters  of  the  Christian 
Church  and  tends  to  enable  them,  after  leaving 
here  and  being  transferred  to  another  congrega 
tion,  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  it  all.  Our  Nav- 
aho  Christians,  who  were  educated  here,  would 
understand  much  of  everything  customary  in 
our  churches  thruout  the  land. 

Then  there  is  the  old-fashioned  catechism.  We 
consider  this  the  most  excellent  agency  for  train 
ing  children  and  youths  of  our  Church  in  the 
way  wherein  they  should  go.  It  is  indispensible. 
The  Church  which  neglects  it  does  so  at  its  peril. 
History  emphatically  says  so.  And  we  know  of 
no  other  means  so  well  suited,  if  properly  used, 
to  bring  the  young  Navaho  to  saving  faith  and 
confession  of  Christ,  and  to  equip  him  or  her 
for  sustained  Christian  life  later  on  as  is  this 
same  catechism.  Rehoboth's  young  people  are 
grouped  into  five  or  six  classes  for  catechetical 
instruction.  And  they  attend  nine  or  ten  months 
of  the  year,  one  hour  every  week  for  each  class. 
At  the  dormitories  the  matrons  do  the  work  gen 
erally  tended  to  by  our  mothers,  viz.,  they  teach 
the  little  ones  their  "questions,"  and  see  to  it 
that  those  older  go  to  the  various  classes  pre 
pared.  Unceasing  is  their  vigil  at  this  point.  On 
it  practically  everything  depends.  Not  only  do 
they  superintend  the  acquiring  of  knowledge, 
but  they  often  intersperse  instructive  remarks, 
explanations,  and  the  like.  In  the  case  of  the 
very  little  ones  much  of  the  learning  is  of  neces- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         109 

sity  mechanical.  Let  us  listen  at  the  door  as  the 
little  tots  learn  their  short  lesson.  Up  against 
the  doors  behind  which  the  clothes  are  stored  is 
ranged  quite  a  row  of  little  fellows.  The  ques 
tion  propounded  by  the  matron,  who  is  repair 
ing  tears  and  rips,  is  "How  many  gods  are 
there?"  And  the  answer,  which  they  are  to  re 
peat  is,  "There  is  only  one  God."  They  have 
progressed  so  far  that  they  can  repeat  this  with 
out  much  more  than  a  little  prompting  now  and 
then.  And  all  you  hear  along  that  line  of  bright, 
brown  faces  is,  "There  is  only  one  God."  "There 
is  only  one  God."  Till  you  are  sure  that  not  one 
of  them  will  ever  forget  that  precious  and  im 
portant  truth.  After  some  time  the  next  ques 
tion  and  answer  are  taken  up  in  the  same  man 
ner.  In  class  these  tots  are  able  and  eager  to 
answer  the  question  put  to  them  correctly  pro 
vided  you  try  no  tricks,  such  as  skipping  a  ques 
tion.  As  they  get  more  familiar  with  Borstius 
they  learn  more  sensibly,  oft  assisted  by  an  older 
pupil.  Until  they  get  their  lesson  unaided.  .  One 
class  has  a  number  of  blank  questions  which  are 
to  be  answered  from  he  Bible,  hints  being  given 
by  texts  suggested,  and  I  am  sure  that  my  fellow- 
ministers  would  enjoy  the  work  this  class,  of 
which  all  but  one  is  under  fifteen  years,  does. 

It  is  to  be  expected  that  beginners  do  not  un 
derstand  the  meaning  of  the  words,  and  oft  pro 
nounce  them  in  a  manner  which  clearly  shows 
this.  One  of  these  was  learning  the  ten  plagues 


110          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

of  Egypt.  He  was  reciting  them  aloud.  It  did 
not  sound  just  right.  So  Mrs.  Brink  bade  him 
repeat.  This  is  what  he  was  saying :  "Sore  boils 
on  man  and  beef!"  "Where  did  Lazarus  go?" 
was  the  question  put  to  another  boy.  His  start 
ling  answer  was:  "The  angels  carried  him  into 
Abraham's  bootsies."  But  they  soon  outgrow 
things  of  this  sort. 

A  handmaiden  in  leading  these  littler  and 
larger  children,  with  but  few  exceptions  born  of 
heathen  parents,  coming  out  of  heathen  camps, 
to  Jesus,  is  the  Sabbath  School.  This  meets  every 
Sabbath  afternoon,  for  one  hour.  Its  superin 
tendent  is  brother  Bosscher.  He  is  assisted  by  a 
number  of  workers,  each  having  a  class.  In  the 
dormitories  and  dining-room  the  golden  text  is 
conspicuously  posted.  And  it  is  oft  referred  to 
and  repeated,  so  that  it  is  quite  generally  known 
by  class-time.  In  the  dining-room  selections  of 
Bible  portions  are  read  which  are  more  or  less 
closely  related  to  next  .Sabbath's  lesson.  This 
portion  is  short.  It  keeps  the  main  truth  of  the 
lesson  before  the  children  thruout  the  whole 
week.  When  the  children  are  home  during  the 
summer  many  is  the  Bible  story  they  tell,  oft 
using  a  picture,  or  Bible  Story  booklet  With  its 
bright  illustrations  as  drawing  card.  Each  child 
who  can  read  a  bit  receives  such  a  booklet  when 
leaving  school  for  the  summer.  Some  of  the 
older  pupils  take  a  Bible  or  Gospel  along.  And 
not  infrequently  a  hymn  book,  The  Good  News 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        m 

in  Story  and  Song,  is  included  in  the  vacation 
bundle  or  package.  In  this  way  many  an  Indian 
little  one  gets  its  first  impression  of  Jesus.  The 
older  folks  enjoy  a  picture  very  much.  They 
often  listen  to  the  talk  and  so  hear  the  Gospel. 
We  have  been  met  in  camp  with  the  remark: 
''We  know  that  story."  Upon  my  asking  whence 
they  had  their  knowledge,  the  answer  was: 
«W-  -told  us." 

In  molding  the  characters  of  these  children 
after  the  pattern  of  Christ,  our  Mission  School 
has  a  very  important  part.  Its  relation  to  the 
other  Christian  endeavor  here  is  something  like 
that  of  the  Christian  School  at  home  and  the 
pastoral  work  for  the  young  of  the  congregation. 
This  is  one  of  the  great  advantages  Rehoboth's 
pupils  have  over  those  of  even  the  best  Govern 
ment  School  for  Indians,  on  or  off  the  Reserva 
tion.  They  attend  a  Christian  School,  Christian 
because  Mission.  The  School  teaches  eight 
grades  and  makes  use  of  three  rooms,  excel 
lently  suited  for  the  work.  Our  three  teachers 
are  laboring  here  because  they  would  be  instru 
mental  in  bringing  the  light  of  the  Gospel  to 
these  boys  and  girls  and  help  equip  them  for 
useful  life  and  honorable  citizenship.  And  they 
are  putting  their  training  and  experience  to  fine 
use.  There  is  marked  improvement  all  along  the 
line.  Indeed,  that  School  with  its  dormitories, 
is  a  mighty  leavening  force,  by  the  grace  of  God. 

Every  grade  receives  definite  Bible  instruction 


112          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

each  day.  And  every  child  sees  prayer  and 
hears  it  in  its  exercise.  Christian  songs  also  help 
to  make  the  Gospel  attractive.  Stories  from  Old 
and  New  Testament  are  told  with  or  without 
charts  such  as  are  used  in  our  Sabbath  schools. 
The  lower  grades  sit  with  folded  hands  listening. 
The  older  grade  pupils  have  a  Bible  and  follow 
as  the  teacher  reads,  explains  and  applies.  Dur 
ing  the  instruction  hour  the  Bible  is  often  cited 
as  supporting  or  throwing  light  upon  what  the 
text-book  teaches.  Should  a  difference  be  found 
between  the  Bible  and  text-book,  the  Word  of 
God  is  final  authority.  Thus  the  child  mind 
gradually  realizes  that  for  a  Christian  the  Word 
of  God  is  infallible  and  it  only.  We  firmly  be 
lieve  that,  even  though  other  things  are  not  al 
ways  equal,  the  results  will  be  as  Solomon  as 
sures  us  with  so  much  confidence:  "Train  up  a 
child  in  the  way  which  he  should  go;  and  when 
he  is  old,  he  will  not  depart  from  it." 

True,  we  do  not  see  the  working  out  of  this 
word  in  the  life  of  some  of  those  how  have  left 
school,  nor  do  all  here  respond  to  the  Lord's 
grace  as  we  pray  they  may.  Nay,  some  have 
left  upon  whom  no  definite  impression  towards 
faith  in  Jesus  and  Christian  life  seems  to  have 
been  made.  Both  young  men  and  young  women 
revert  to  heathendom  soon  after  returning  to 
the  environment  whence  they  came.  So,  too, 
pupils  have  saddened  hearts  interested  in  their 
temporal  and  eternal  welfare  by  frankly  ac- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         H3 

knowledging  that  they  were  not  at  all  interested 
in  the  Gospel,  gave  little  or  no  thought  to  Jesus 
and  His  love,  felt  no  sorrow  for  sin,  no  fear  for 
the  wrath  of  God.  One  said,  "I  never  think 
about  these  things  at  all."  And  yet,  the  very  one 
saying  this  is  a  most  attentive  listener  when  the 
Word  is  preached.  It  would  not  be  strange  at 
all  if  those  who  so  feel  and  talk  will  be  the  first 
among  our  boys  to  become  concerned  because  of 
sin,  the  first  to  seek  after  Jesus  till  they  find 
Him,  the  first  to  confess  His  name  and  be  en 
rolled  as  members  of  His  Church. 

While  writing  this  a  case  comes  to  my  mind. 
Some  years  ago  one  of  our  teachers  came  to  the 
missionary  in  sorrow,  saying:  "R—  -  says  he 
will  not  join  with  the  other  children  in  the  re 
peating  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  with  which  we  be 
gin  our  morning  work."  He  says,  "I  do  not  want 
to  pray,  for  I  do  not  want  to  be  a  Christian." 
"What  shall  I  do?"  After  some  further  coun 
seling  she  was  instructed  to  send  the  lad  to  the 
missionary.  She  did  so.  We  had  an  earnest 
moment  together,  and  before  he  left  this  was 

said   to   him :      "Look  here,  R ,  you   are   a 

pupil  of  this  School  and  must  obey  its  rule 
whether  you  want  to  be  a  Christian  or  not.  Now 
you  go  back  and  tell  Miss  T-  -  that  you  will 
obey.  And,  remember,  dear  boy,  that  Jesus 
loves  children  and  would  have  them  as  lambs 
of  His  flock.  Do  not  turn  away  from  Him,  but 
let  Him  lay  His  hand  upon  you  and  bless  you." 


114          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

There  was  no  more  trouble  with  him  after  this 
on  this  score.  And  maybe  three  years  or  so  after 
R —  came  to  Consistory  without  previous 
notice,  requesting  to  be  baptized.  He  was 
thoroughly  questioned,  his  record  gone  into  and 
we  could  do  nothing  but  gladly  admit  him  to 
Baptism  and  the  Lord's  table.  The  lad  became 
ill.  His  illness  increased  till  for  over  two  years 
he  was  a  patient  at  our  hospital  and  seldom  left 
his  bed.  Slowly  but  surely  that  body  succumbed 
till  at  last  it  was  apparent  to  him,  too,  that  he 
must  die,  even  as  one  of  his  mates  had  died  of 
practically  the  same  disease  in  his  parents' 
camp.  Oh,  but  he  did  have  times  of  despon 
dency!  But  there  were  longer  seasons  of  faith 
and  bright  hope  in  Jesus.  One  day  he  said:  "I 
would  rather  die  than  get  better,  for  if  I  die  I 
shall  be  rid  of  sin.  If  I  live  I  may  go  back  to  the 
old  way."  That  wish  was  gratified.  His  remains 
lie  with  other  dear  departed  dead  at  rest  in  the 
grave  ordained  by  his  Lord.  He,  too,  awaits  the 
glad  resurrection  morn,  when  Jesus  comes  again 
to  fetch  His  people. 

The  Lord  has  from  year  to  year  blessed  the 
educational,  nurturing  portion  of  the  work  here 
in  the  drawing  of  children  to  Him. 

Much  more  is  done  in  the  dormitories  to  form 
Christian  character  and  to  lead  young  Navaho 
Christians  in  the  way  of  Christian  life  than  one 
could  tell  about.  Every  morning  all  meet  before 
breakfast  with  their  respective  matrons,  a  por- 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO         H5 

tion  of  the  Word  is  read  aloud,  the  children  fol 
lowing  in  their  Bible,  then  all  kneel  in  prayer  at 
which,  sometimes,  one  of  the  pupils  leads.  Dur 
ing  the  day  there  is  often  occasion  for  exhorta 
tion,  encouraging,  rebuke,  personal  talk,  and 
prayer.  Not  infrequently,  especially  lately, 
pupils  will  come  to  the  matron  and  ask  her  to 
pray  with  them  in  her  room  or  in  their  sleep 
ing  quarters.  One  evening  such  a  "cottage 
prayer  meeting"  in  the  matron's  room  was  inad 
vertently  interrupted.  Oh,  the  sight!  About  a 
dozen  pupils  were  ranged  around  their  matron 
on  their  knees.  She  had  led  first,  and  then  some 
of  the  fellow-worshippers  presented  petitions 
for  their  people,  the  pupils  of  the  other  dormi 
tory,  the  workers,  and  the  work.  A  little  group 
will  kneel  at  a  bed,  at  retiring,  and  unite  in 
prayer,  one  or  each  leading  in  turn.  Surely, 
there  is  joy  in  heaven  because  of  these  doings 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  these  hearts. 

Nearly  every  spring  a  boy  or  two  and  some 
girls  come  to  the  matron  and  confide  to  her  that 
they  desire  Baptism.  Soon  the  missionary  is 
having  confidential  talks  with  them,  and  ere 
long,  if  they  are  not  too  young  according  to  the 
rule  laid  down  by  our  Board,  they  form  a  class 
which  has  as  its  object  leading  them  a  bit  deeper 
into  the  truth,  clarifying  their  vision,  strength 
ening  their  resolution,  trying  them  out.  Some 
times  it  is  thought  best  to  let  them  spend  the  sum 
mer  vacation  at  home  before  admitting  them  to 


116          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Baptism,  that  they  may  take  stock  of  themselves 
amid  the  idolatrous,  sinful,  tempting  surround 
ings,  gain  a  deeper  knowledge  of  themselves  and 
also  learn  to  lean  more  wholly  and  heavily  on 
the  Lord.  Our  most  joyful  and  edifying  hours 
are  those  spent  with  these  children  in  Christ. 
They  do  not  always  say  a  great  deal,  but  one  can 
feel  that  whatever  Jesus  says,  whatever  is  taught 
that  He  would  have  us  do,  is  accepted  as  good. 
Often  have  we  had  the  Word  of  Jesus  brought 
home  to  us  in  this  connection:  "Verily,  I  say 
unto  you,  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  King 
dom  of  God  as  a  little  child,  shall  in  no  wise 
enter  therein."  (Luke  18:  17.) 

Gospel  work  is  also  carried  on  at  the  hospital. 
I  could  say:  All  that  is  done  in  the  hospital  is 
Gospel  work,  for  the  whole  care  of  the  ill  and 
the  hurt  by  Dr.  Mulder,  Nurse  Lam  and  assis 
tants  is  Gospel  labor.  It  is  done  at  the  command 
of  our  Master,  the  Great  Physician,  and  points  to 
Him  as  such.  Besides  this  there  are  meetings 
with  the  patients  and  personal  talks  continually, 
wherein  the  Gospel  is  brought  to  them  and 
pressed  home,  always  with  application  to  their 
life  and  illustrations  taken  from  it.  Now  we 
read  a  portion  of  Scripture  to  them  in  their  own 
language.  Then  a  patient  or  another  serves  as 
interpreter  to  a  Gospel  talk.  This  is  done  at 
least  three  or  four  days  of  nearly  every  week, 
to  from  one  to  twenty  or  more  patients.  It  is  a 
rule  that  all  who  receive  the  care  of  the  hospital 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         117 

shall  attend  these  meetings,  when  able.  Satur 
day  evenings  are  sometimes  utilized  to  give  a 
resume  of  the  week's  talks  together  with  a  stere- 
opticon.  Our  Mission  has  two,  both  using  elec 
tricity,  one  for  slides  only,  the  other  for  opaque 
objects,  such  as  clippings  from  magazines,  Bible 
pictures,  and  the  like.  That  Saturday  evening 
meeting  is  always  evangelical  in  its  purpose,  al 
though  every  picture  thrown  on  the  screen  is 
not  biblical.  We  also  show  them  foreign  lands 
and  peoples  and  the  like.  They  take  a  gratify 
ing  interest  in  this  occasion,  sitting  about  or  ly 
ing  on  their  beds,  children  and  grown-ups. 

The  Navaho  is  naturally  taciturn.  He  does 
not  readily  say  what  he  feels  or  thinks.  Unless 
it  be  that  he  is  displeased,  grouchy,  sarcastic. 
He  is  not  backward  in  showing  that,  as  our  assis 
tants  in  the  hospital  know.  But  at  times  they 
will  express  their  approval  of  what  is  said  and 
ask  for  more.  Of ttimes  they  talk  over  these  mat 
ters  as  they  lie  abed,  or  sit  about.  While  this 
does  not  need  to  mean  that  they  believe  and  act 
upon  the  Message,  it  is  encouraging.  Anything 
but  this  apathy,  this  submissive  listening.  The 
Gospel  must  do  one  of  two  things,  it  must 
awaken  antagonism  or  make  concerned  and 
seeking.  When  antagonism  develops  it  is  a 
hopueful  sign.  $o  when  we  asked  the  patients 
one  day,  whether  they  were  tired  and  would 
have  the  reading  cease,  one  of  them,  not  the 
easiest  to  handle  by  far,  said :  "It  is  a  long  time 


118          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

yet  before  sundown."  It  now  being  about 
11  A.  M.,  I  went  on  for  a  while  longer.  Grunts 
from  time  to  time  showed  their  interest. 

Several  instances  could  be  given  of  hopeful  or 
positive  results  of  this  phase  of  the  hospital 
work.  Not  many  months  ago  a  middle-aged 
woman  came  to  be  treated.  She  remained  some 
time.  One  day,  after  the  story  was  told,  she 
said :  "I  know  that  story,  and  I  believe  it."  We 
asked  her  where  she  had  heard  it.  She  had  a 
child  at  the  Fort  Defiance  school,  and  he  had 
told  her  the  Bible  stories  taught  by  Rev.  H.  A. 
Clark.  We  had  a  talk  with  her.  After  a  time  it 
was  noticed  that  she  took  a  walk  every  morning 
and  always  disappeared  in  the  shrubbery  near 
our  home.  Upon  being  questioned  about  this, 
she  replied:  "I  go  out  there  every  morning 
and  pray  to  Jesus."  Her  tone  and  face  gave  one 
the  impression  of  honesty  and  spirituality. 

A  few  months  ago  a  mother  left  the  hospital 
to  visit  her  people.  While  at  home  she  relapsed. 
Death  was  near.  Realizing  it,  she  told  her  rela 
tives  that  she  was  not  at  all  afraid  of  death. 
Upon  their  expressing  surprise  at  this  and  ask 
ing  the  reason,  her  answer  was:  "They  took 
care  of  me  at  the  hospital  and  told  me  that  Jesus 
came  to  save  just  such  sinners  as  I.  Now  I  am  not 
afraid  of  death.  Soon  I  shall  die,  but  I  am 
saved."  Two  days  later  she  departed  to  be  with 
Jesus. 

In  faith  we  have  the  assurance  that  many  a 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO 


patient  has  gone  forth  from  here  with  a  heart  re 
newed  by  the  Spirit,  or  has  been  carried  forth  to 
burial  for  whom  Jesus  here  became  the  resur 
rection  and  the  life.  And  greater  results  may  be 
expected  as  the  work  is  properly  provided  for 
and  expands.  The  money  invested  in  that  hos 
pital  is  a  gilt-edge  investment.  It  should  be 
materially  increased,  the  equipment  should  be 
added  to,  and  that  quickly.  The  larger  the  pro 
vision  the  more  extensive  and  important  the 
service.  By  putting  the  hospital  there  our 
Church  promised  the  Navaho  adequate  service. 
May  she  keep  her  word. 

Rehoboth  has  Navaho  visitors  at  times,  men 
and  women,  who  come  in  from  camps  far  and 
near  to  visit  the  children,  contract  for  or  sell 
mutton  or  beef,  advise  with  the  missionary  and 
the  like.  On  the  whole  it  is  a  pleasure  to  have 
them  come  and  stay  a  bit,  for  it  gives  an  oppor 
tunity  to  reach  them  with  the  Gospel.  They 
camp  in  a  hogan,  or  in  our  basement,  or  in  one 
of  the  dormitories,  or  out-of-doors.  As  chance 
can  be  found  we  look  in  on  them.  Sometimes 
there  is  a  preaching  of  the  Word  by  one  of  us, 
if  an  interpreter  is  at  hand.  Had  we  a  goodly 
sized  kin  more  could,  no  doubt,  be  done  in  the 
same  time  and  more  satisfactorily.  Perhaps  one 
will  be  provided  some  day.  Occasionally  we 
can  induce  them  to  go  with  us  to  the  hospital 
when  we  go  for  a  meeting  with  the  patients.  Not 
many  leave  without  hearing  the  Message  read  or 


120          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

spoken  to  them.  But  it  will  happen  that  they 
are  here  for  so  short  and  at  such  a  time,  that 
we  do  not  see  them. 

The  number  of  visitors  does  not  increase  in 
proportion  to  the  larger  number  of  pupils.  Older 
friends  are  dying.  Those  younger  do  not  all  take 
the  interest  these  did.  Some  parents  live  a  great 
ways  off.  We  have  invited  and  urged  repeatedly 
that  those  near  should  come  over  on  Lord's  Days 
and  listen  to  the  Word  in  their  own  tongue.  But 
it  is  practically  of  no  avail.  We  could  have  regu 
lar  Sabbath  Day  services  for  them,  if  they 
would.  But  we'll  not  give  up.  The  field  mis 
sionary  is  now  assuring  them  a  lunch  of  crackers 
and  coffee  at  noon,  if  they  will  come.  This  may 
draw  them  eventually.  They  do  not  like  the 
trip  without  anything  to  eat  connected  with  it. 
And  one  cannot  blame  them  either. 

To  some  this  local  work  may  seem  insignifi 
cant  and  time-robbing.  Well — it  does  cost  quite 
some  time,  that  is  true.  It  might,  be  thought  too 
small  to  sit  down  with  one,  or  two,  by  a  little 
fire  or  in  the  hogan  or  elsewhere  and  read  to 
them  a  portion  of  the  Word,  the  more  so  since 
they  understand  so  little  of  our  reading  at  times. 
Perhaps  it  looks  useless  for  two  men,  a  mission 
ary  and  an  interpreter,  to  spend  the  time  with 
one  man,  or  one  woman,  preaching  to  him  or  her. 
We  have  been  asked:  "Now  honestly,  does  it 
pay?"  But  whether  it  pays  or  not,  the  Lord  in 
cluded  the  Navaho  in  His  Commission,  although 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         12L 

many  Christians  do  not  figure  with  these  heathen 
for  generations  right  at  our  door.  The  Churches 
have  gone  over  seas,  but  have  neglected  the  soul 
perishing  in  the  shadow  of  the  building  they 
worship  in.  Moreover,  a  soul  saved  is  a  rich 
fruit  for  eternity.  And,  such  a  soul  is  apt  not  to 
stand  alone.  A  convert  is  one  of  a  circle  of  rela 
tives,  one  of  a  clan,  member  of  the  nation.  Who 
knows  the  influence  which  may  go  out  from 
him  upon  his  connections  and  associates?  He 
may  be  a  means  in  God's  gracious  hands  for  the 
conversion  of  many  to  Jesus  and  the  true  re 
ligion.  The  woman  at  Jacob's  well  was  but  one, 
a  woman,  and  a  sinful  one  at  that.  Behold,  what 
results  were  obtained  thru  her  believing  and 
making  Jesus  known  to  her  city.  Let  our  Church 
continue  to  properly  take  care  of  this  work,  let 
her  abound  in  prayer  and  supplication  for  con 
versions,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  will  honor  her 
faith,  her  sowing  will  produce  large  reaping  in 
the  day  of  the  harvest  and  ingathering. 


122          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

VI. 
CROWN  POINT,  NEW  MEXICO 

TO  OBTAIN  an  accurate  conception  of  what 
the  Government  is  doing  as  to  service  for 
her  Navaho  wards  and  as  to  education  for  their 
children,  it  will  be  necessary,  first  of  all,  to 
speak  about  the  several  divisions  into  which  the 
Navaho  country  is  divided.  These  various  divi 
sions  are  called  jurisdictions,  or  are  designated 
as  Agencies,  for,  the  Government  representative 
who  is  in  charge  is  known  as  the  Agent.  Accord 
ing  to  a  report  made  some  years  ago  by  our  Mis 
sionaries,  there  are  six  distinct  Agencies. 

(1)  The  Pueblo  Bonito  Agency,  headquarters 
at  Crown  Point,  includes  the  far  eastern  section 
of  the  Reservation,  and  all  the  Navahoes  who 
have  received  allotments  east  of  the  Reserva 
tion  proper.    This  district  extends  from  far  to  the 
south  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  to  the  San  Juan 
River. 

(2)  The    Navaho    Agency,    headquarters    at 
Fort  Defiance,  includes  all  the  territory  from 
the  line  of  the  Pueblo  Bonito  Agency  westward 
to  the  Hopi  Reservation,  and  northward  to  the 
vicinity  of  Two  Grey  Hills. 

(3)  The  San  Juan  Agency,  headquarters  at 
Shiprock,    lies    to    the    north    of    the    Navaho 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         123 

Agency,  and  extends  to  the  northern  line  of  the 
Reservation. 

(4)  The     Hopi     Agency,     headquarters     at 
Keani's  Canyon,  includes  the  entire  Hopi  tribe, 
and  since  more  than  half  of  their  Reservation  is 
occupied  by  Navahoes,  these  are  also  subject  to 
the  same  Agent.     There  was  some  talk  a  few 
years  ago  to  create  a  separate  Agency  for  these 
Navahoes,  which  was   to   be  called   the  Rlack 
Mountain  Agency.     We  have  not  heard,  how 
ever,  that  this  has  been  done,  and  therefore  sur 
mise  that  these  Navahoes  and  Hopis  still  share  a 
joint  Agency. 

(5)  The  Western  Navaho  Agency,  headquar 
ters  at  Tuba,  extends  westward  from  the  Hopi 
Agency  to   the  Grand   Canyon   and  northward 
into  Utah. 

(6)  The    Navaho    Extension    Agency,    head 
quarters  at  Leupp,  lies  south  of  the  Hopi  Agency. 

We  should  alsa  mention  the  fact  that  about 
two  hundred  Navahoes,  living  far  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  their  Reservation,  are  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Indian  Agent  at  Albuquerque. 

At  the  headquarters  of  each  Agency,  and  at  a 
few  other  places  within  the  jurisdiction  of  some 
of  the  Agencies,  Boarding  Schools  have  been  es 
tablished,  where  all  the  way  from  eighty  to  three 
or  four  hundred  boys  and  girls  are  educated. 
Day  schools  have  also  been  established  here 
and  there  among  the  Navahoes,  but  in  general 


124          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

they  have  not  proven  very  successful,  undoubt 
edly  due  to  a  great  extent  at  least,  to  the  nomadic 
life  of  these  people. 

It  might  be  well  also  to  mention  here  how  the 
Christian  Church  is  represented  on  the  Navaho 
Reservation.  At  the  Pueblo  Bonito  Agency  we 
find  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  represented 
at  Crown  Point.  On  the  Navaho  Agency  the 
Presbyterians  are  found  at  Fort  Defiance  and 
Ganado,  and  the  Christian  Reformed  at  To- 
hatchi.  On  the  San  Juan  Agency,  the  Presby 
terians  at  Liberty,  near  Shiprock,  and  in  the 
Carizzo  Mountains;  the  Christian  Reformed  at 
Toadlena.  On  the  Hopi  Agency  a  Baptist  mis 
sionary  at  Ream's  Canyon  is  seeking  to  reach  the 
Hopis,  but  there  is  no  one  looking  after  the  Nava- 
hoes.  On  the  Western  Navaho  Agency  the  Pres 
byterians  are  located  at  Tuba.  On  the  Navaho 
Extension  Agency  the  same  Church  is  laboring 
at  Leupp  and  Tolchaco. 

Crown  Point,  as  we  learn  from  the  above,  is 
therefore  the  Agency  headquarters  of  the  Pueblo 
Bonito  jurisdiction.  This  site  was  chosen  by  the 
present  Superintendent,  Mr.  S.  F.  Stacher.  He 
not  only  selected  the  site,  but  also  evolved  the 
plan  for  the  whole  institution,  and  under  his 
vigilant  supervision  all  the  buildings  have  been 
constructed,  in  which  work  the  Indians  were 
employed  as  much  as  possible.  It  is  admitted  by 
all  who  have  cognizance  of  the  facts,  that  this 
Agency  has  a  record  second  to  none  in  the  entire 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        125 

Indian  Service,  and  it  still  has  a  most  promising 
future  as  to  growth  and  development. 

It  will  undoubtedly  surprise  all,  not  familiar 
with  conditions  among  the  Indians  of  the  desert, 
to  learn  that  within  an  area  of  six  thousand 
square  miles  occupied  by  the  Navahoes  of  the 
Pueblo  Bonito  Agency,  there  is  not  a  single  living 
stream,  and  consequently  the  water  supply  for 
stock  and  domestic  purposes  has  always  been  a 
source  of  anxiety.  This  condition  Supt.  Stacher 
is  striving  hard  to  overcome  or  remedy  by  the 
drilling  of  artesian  wells  which  give  a  permanent 
supply  of  water.  Where  possible,  it  is  proposed 
to  impound  the  surplus  flow  of  these  wells  for 
irrigation  purposes,  and  then  the  Indians  of  the 
various  communities  where  these  wells  are 
found,  will  be  given  an  opportunity  to  farm  a 
small  area  which  will  supply  them  with  prod 
ucts  that  they  do  not  now  enjoy.  At  the  Gov 
ernment  experiment  farm,  located  some  four 
miles  from  the  Agency,  it  has  been  demonstrated 
what  can  be  raised  in  the  way  of  garden,  field 
and  orchard  products  if  only  a  sufficient  supply 
of  water  can  be  obtained. 

The  pride  of  the  Grown  Point  Boarding  School 
is  the  Navaho  band  which  first  attained  its  splen 
did  efficiency  under  Bandmaster  Jacob  C.  Mor 
gan,  himself  a  Navaho.  Mr.  Morgan,  at  different 
times  employed  in  our  Mission  at  Tohatchi  and 
Rehoboth,  is  one  of  the  best  cornetists  in  the 
Southwest. 


126          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

At  this  Agency  our  Church  was  represented 
from  the  time  the  School  was  opened.  The  first 
to  represent  the  Church  in  the  occupation  of  this 
field  was  the  Rev.  D.  H.  Muyskens  and  wife,  who 
tabernacled  during  his  brief  sojourn  in  a  shack. 
His  successor  was  the  Rev.  Jacob  Bolt,  who,  with 
his  wrife,  were  sent  forth  to  this  Mission  by  the 
Holland  churches  of  Paterson,  N.  J.  They  began 
their  labors  in  1915,  and  have  since  not  only  wit 
nessed  many  changes  in  their  surroundings,  as 
the  marvelous  development  of.  the  School  and 
Agency,  but  have  also  been  gladdened  by  seeing 
that  the  Lord  of  the  Harvest  was  with  them  and 
blessing  their  efforts,  not  only  among  the  Nav- 
aho  children  at  the  school,  among  whom  they 
wrere  primarily  sent  to  work,  but  also  among  the 
whites  at  the  Agency,  who  thoroly  appreciate 
and  are  thankful  for  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel 
as  exercised  by  Rev.  Bolt,  who  before  entering 
upon  this  service,  was  considered  one  of  the 
most  precise  and  definite  expounders  of  the 
Word  among  the  ministers  of  the  home 
churches.  His  ministry  in  various  churches  of 
the  denomination,  which  he  now  represents  in 
the  Indian  Mission  service,  will  not  be  forgotten 
as  long  as  they  live  who  were  recipients  of  it. 
But,  what  especially  gave  these  sincere  and  con 
scientious  workers  at  the  front  and  us  at  home 
great  joy  and  happiness  in  the  soul,  was  that  this 
spring  no  less  than  twenty  young  ladies  and  fif 
teen  young  men  of  Navaho  blood  requested  and 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         127 

received  Christian  baptism.  Such  fruit  upon 
their  prayers  and  work  makes  up  for  many  of 
the  things  sacrificed  when  one  is  away  from  all 
ties  of  blood  and  friendship,  and  is  located  at  a 
lonely  post  in  the  wilderness. 

The  pleasant  and  hospitable  home  of  Brother 
and  Sister  Bolt  at  Crown  Point  has  often  proven 
to  be  a  haven  of  rest  and  peace  to  a  weary  pil 
grim  across  that  desert  country,  as  well  as  to 
many  another  Missionary  passing  that  way,  and 
different  members  of  the  Board  of  Heathen  Mis 
sions  sent  to  visit  the  field,  have  also  been  grate 
ful  recipients  of  this  kind  hospitality  and  will 
not  soon  forget  it.  How  these  two  servants  of 
the  Master  are  doing  their  work  among  the  con 
stantly  increasing  number  of  Navaho  girls  and 
boys  at  the  Government  School,  to  whom  they 
are  a  very  father  and  mother,  and  how  they  are 
carrying  on  amid  all  the  discouragements  and 
disappointments  naturally  attendant  upon  such 
work,  is  all  explained  in  the  following,  written 
by  his  at  our  request. 


128          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

BRINGING  THE  GOSPEL  TO  THE  NAVAHOES 
AT  A  GOVERNMENT  SCHOOL 


REV.  JACOB  BOLT,  Missionary  at  Crown  Point,  N.  M. 

'"THE  GOVERNMENT  maintains  Boarding 
•^  Schools  for  the  education  of  the  Navaho  In 
dian  youth.  As  to  the  number  of  these  schools 
on  the  Reservation  suffice  it  to  say  that  they  are 
not  adequate  to  the  number  of  children  of  school 
age.  The  great  majority  must  forego  an  edu 
cation,  by  reason  of  the  Government's  slowness 
in  providing  schools. 

To  these  Reservation  Schools  the  Navaho  chil 
dren  come  fresh  from  the  camp.  They  range4 
from  5  to  20  years  old  when  taken  in.  The  Gov 
ernment  provides  their  food  and  clothing,  and 
their  education  covers  the  lower  grades,  besides 
a  little  manual  training.  For  the  higher  grades 
and  trades  they  are  sent  to  non-reservation 
schools,  located  at  Santa  Fe,  Albuquerque,  Has- 
kell  Institute  at  Lawrence,  Kans.,  and  the  Sher 
man  Institute,  at  Riverside,  Calif.  The  finest  op 
portunity  to  obtain  a  thorough  education,  free  of 
charge,  is  offered  the  Navaho  boy  and  girl.  But 
the  Indian  is  slow  to  appreciate  the  value  of  an 
education,  and  very  few  take  all  they  can  get,  or 
appreciate  what  they  get.  On  the  whole,  the 
Indian  is  contented  with  his  lot,  and  he  fails  to 
see  where  the  White  Man's  way  is  superior  to 
his,  and  he  has  seen  so  much  of  the  White  Man's 
ways  that  discounts  their  claim  to  superiority* 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         129 

that  we  can  hardly  blame  him  for  refusing  to  be 
polluted  by  the  White  Man's  education.  Educa 
tion  without  the  Gospel  has  proven  more  of  a 
curse  than  a  blessing  in  many  a  case.  The  great 
need  of  the  Navaho  as  well  as  of  any  other 
people  is  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  And  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  Church  to  give  him  the  Gospel. 

At  these  Government  Schools  the  Church  has 
a  splendid  opportunity  to  bring  the  knowledge 
of  Christ  Jesus  to  the  Navaho  youth.  Time  is 
allowed  for  religious  instruction.  And  our 
churches  have  taken  advantage  of  this  oppor 
tunity  and  have  a  Missionary  at  three  Govern 
ment  Schools  for  the  Navahoes,  at  Toadlena,  To- 
hatchi,  and  Crown  Point,  and  also  at  the  Gov 
ernment  School  for  the  Zuni  Indians  at  Black 
Rock. 

During  week  days  we  are  allowed  certain 
hours  to  instruct  the  children,  and  on  Sunday 
we  have  Sunday  school  in  the  morning  and  an 
Evening  Service,  attended  by  pupils  and  em 
ployees.  Besides  these  fixed  hours,  we  have  the 
privilege  of  mingling  with  the  pupils  and  visit 
ing  them  in  the  dormitories,  which  gives  us  an 
opportunity  for  closer  contact  and  personal 
work.  In  some  instances,  at  least,  this  is  per 
mitted,  even  encouraged,  though  at  other  places 
it  is  looked  at  askance,  or  directly  prohibited. 
Much  depends  upon  the  local  authorities  and 
employees  their  inclination  or  disinclination  to 
the  Christian  Religion  acting  either  as  an  en- 


130          BRING  LNG       THE       GOSPEL 

couragement   or   raising   a   positive   barrier   to 
religious  work. 

Besides  talking  to  them,  another  factor  in  giv 
ing  the  pupils  a  knowledge  of  the  way  of  salva 
tion  is  the  distribution  of  Bibles,  Hymn  Books, 
and  other  Christian  literature. 

The  Navahoes  are  a  religious  people,  albeit 
their  religion  is  false.  They  have  a  sense  of  un 
seen,  spiritual  realities  influencing  their  lives. 
Their  Medicine-man  is  priest  as  well  as  phy 
sician.  This  religious  sense  is  inbred,  and  in  the 
small  children  it  soon  asserts  itself  in  all  man 
ner  of  superstition.  This  offers  a  point  of  con 
tact,  altho  it  does  not  predispose  them  in  favor 
of  the  Christian  religion.  Yet  we  have  found 
the  pupils  interested  listeners  when  telling  them 
the  stories  of  the  Bible,  and  especially  the  won 
derful  story  of  the  Savior  who  came  and  died 
for  us.  Of  course,  more  is  needed  to  make  them 
true  believers  in  Jesus  than  merely  learning  the 
Bible  lessons.  But  faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and 
hearing  by  the  Word  of  God.  And  we  have  seen 
such  a  remarkable  acceptance  of  the  truth  con 
cerning  Jesus,  that  we  cannot  but  ascribe  it  to 
the  gracious  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  The 
bringing  of  the  Gospel  at  a  Government  School 
has  borne  fruit.  Let  those  who  are  taking  to 
heart  this  work  rest  assured,  that  their  labors, 
and  prayers,  and  gifts  are  not  in  vain  in  the 
Lord.  You  will  meet  in  heaven  many  who 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         131 

learned  to  know  and  love  the  Savior  at  a  Gov 
ernment  School. 

The  work  at  a  Government  School  is  as  easy 
as  anywhere  else.  And  it  is  just  as  difficult  as 
everywhere.  Just  as  easy,  because  we  are  not 
alone,  not  thrown  upon  our  own  resources  and 
strength,  but  the  living,  all-powerful  .Saviour  is 
with  us.  We  are  workers  together  with  God. 
And  just  as  difficult  as  elsewhere,  because 
wherever  the  work  of  Christ  is  being  done,  the 
devil  is  sure  to  oppose.  Where  Christ  builds 
His  Church,  the  gates  of  hell  make  warfare. 

Let  us  carry  on.  It  is  the  Master's  command. 
It  is  His  work,  and  that  can  never  fail.  We  may 
be  called  upon  patiently  to  wait  for  tangible 
fruits.  But  if  we  faint  not,  we  shall  see  and  be 
satisfied.  We  see  today  evidence  of  the  power 
of  the  Gospel.  There  is  a  hunger  and  thirst  to 
know  more  about  Jesus.  It  is  inspiring  to  see  a 
great  number  of  pupils  at  Crown  Point  eagerly 
drink  in  our  words  as  we  talk  to  them  about  the 
Saviour.  A  large  number  has  been  begging  for 
baptism  for  a  year.  They  insist  that  they  believe 
in  Jesus  and  are  God's  children. 

The  bringing  of  the  Gospel  at  the  school  does 
not  end  here.  The  children  carry  the  news 
home.  They  assure  us  that  they  tell  their  par 
ents.  The>\  have  come  to  us,  saying:  "My 
mother  and  my  father  believe.  They  say,  learn 
all  you  can  about  it,  and  tell  us."  Another  one 
said:  "I  dreamt  that  Jesus  was  coming  for  me. 


132          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

And  then  I  awoke,  and  I  said:  O  Jesus,  wait  a 
little  while  until  I  tell  my  father."  Their  thoughts 
are  coccupied  with  Jesus  and  His  salvation.  And 
they  have  a  desire  to  tell  others.*  The  hope  of 
the  future  are  the  children,  and  the  hope  of  the 
children  is  Christ. 

What  shall  the  harvest  be?  Glorious,  far  ex 
ceeding  our  wildest  expectations.  It  may  seem 
in  vain  at  times  to  those  who  think  the  Navahoes 
ought  by  this  time  to  be  erecting  costly  church* 
buildings  and  discarding  their  blankets  for  seal 
skin  coats.  But  the  Kingdom  of  God  does  not 
come  immediately  with  outward  show.  And  of 
ten  where  there  is  most  outward  show,  there  is 
least  spiritual  life.  We  who  listen  to  the  .talk  of 
these  Navaho  children  thank  God  and  take  cour 
age.  Jesus  is  real  to  them.  And  they  talk  to 
Him.  Have  you  ever  talked  to  Jesus  about  these 
young  Navaho  Christians?  Do  you  realize  that 
they  have  a  hard  battle  to  fight?  Rather  than 
criticize,  pray,  pray,  pray.  And  prayer  will  be 
answered,  't  was  answered  for  you.  Where 
there  is  much  prayer,  we  may  expect  much  fruit 
upon  our  work  of  bringing  the  Gospel  to  the 
Navaho  at  a  Government  School.  Let  us  plant 
and  water,  work  and  pray,  and  God  will  give 
the  increase. 


IN       HOGANAND       PUEBLO         133 


VII. 

A  PIONEER  MISSIONARY  TO  THE  NAVAHO 
INDIANS 

THE  VERY  NAME  "pioneer"  is  a  word  to  con 
jure  with,  for  it  has  a  certain  attraction  for 
every  one  who  has  red  blood  in  his  veins.  The 
hearts  of  all  our  young  Americans  can  easily  be 
stirred  and  thrilled  by  telling  them  the  stories  of 
their  pioneer  fathers  and  mothers.  It  is  simply 
impossible  to  find  a  real  boy  in  our  homes  who 
does  not  absorb  the  tales  of  dauntless  courage 
and  true  heroism  with  which  the  history  of  our 
country  is  packed.  The  Pilgrim  Fathers  of  old 
New  England  have  simply  been  idolized  by 
many  during  the  past  year,  when  we  commem 
orated  the  Ter-centenary  of  their  coming  to  the 
bleak  and  inhospitable  shores  of  our  Western 
Hemisphere.  Our  Holland  Pilgrim  Fathers,  who 
left  their  native  land  because  of  religious  per 
secution  and  came  to  the  land  of  the  free  and 
the  brave,  who  settled  in  the  virgin  forests  of 
Michigan,  are  indeed  true  heroes  in  the  eyes  of 
their  children  and  their  children's  children  be 
cause  of  the  hardships  endured  and  the  courage 
of  faith  displayed.  Becoming  older  in  years  and 
riper  in  the  experiences  of  life,  we  realize  that 
it  certainly  does  take  real  men  and  women  to  do 
the  "pioneering"  in  any  sphere  or  labor  of  life. 


134          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

The  History  of  Christian  Missions,  thruout  the 
ages,  is  therefore  also  replete  with  the  daring 
undertakings  and  the  marvelous  successes  of  the 
Pioneer  Missionaries  who  were  the  first  to  enter 
a  new  field,  sometimes  blazing  a  trail  where  no 
white  man  or  woman  had  gone  before,  sur 
mounting  valiantly  in  the  faith  all  the  obstacles 
and  difficulties  encountered  upon  the  way. 

Thus,  as  a  Church,  we  must  recognize  the  Rev. 
Leonard  P.  Brink,  popularly  known  to  all  the 
ministers,  and  to  most  of  the  members  of  our 
Church  from  coast  to  coast  as  "L.  P.,"  as  the  Pio 
neer  Missionary  to  the  Navahoes.  Since  the 
Rev.  H.  Fryling  no  longer  labors  among  the  Nav 
ahoes,  but  is  holding  the  fort  and  fighting  the 
fight  at  Zuni,  Rev.  Brink  is  the  longest  in  the 
service  of  any  of  our  present  force.  It  jvas  in  the 
year  1900,  after  graduating  from  the  Seminary  at 
Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  that  he  and  Mrs.  Brink 
left  relatives  and  friends  to  enter  upon  the  work 
at  Tohatchi,  which  was  then  still  in  its  infancy. 

No  one,  unless  he  has  personal  experience,  can 
know  what  it  means  to  come  to  work  among  a 
people  whom  he  cannot  understand  and  who  in 
turn  do  not  understand  him.  When  you  read 
the  following,  kindly  written  by  Brother  Brink 
at  our  request  for  this  book,  you  will  notice 
that  he  refrains  from  telling  about  these  ex 
periences.  How  we  would  like  to  know  the 
workings  of  a  mind  and  the  emotions  of  a  heart 
under  such  trying  circumstances!  We  surmise, 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        135 

however,  that  it  would  be  like  uncovering  the 
tenderest  feelings  of  the  soul  to  tell  these  things, 
and  therefore  we  may  not  expect  it. 

One  of  the  very  first  things  that  faced  him,  af 
ter  getting  settled  in  the  little  Mission  Manse  at 
Tohatchi,  was  one  of  the  most  extensive  and 
difficult  languages  of  which  he  did  not  under 
stand  a  word,  and  what  was  still  worse,  of  which, 
if  we  are  informed  correctly,  there  was  not  a 
word  in  print  to  assist  him  in  getting  a  start.  It 
simply  had  to  be  learned  and  mastered  by  pick 
ing  it  up  as  it  was  spoken  by  those  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact.  By  untiring  perseverance  he 
conquered  and  began  to  speak  the  language  so 
well  and  so  fluently  that  the  Navahoes  began  to 
refer  to  him  as  "the  man  who  talks  like  an  In 
dian."  He  did  not  only  learn  to  talk,  however, 
but  with  the  help  of  a  trusted  interpreter,  Ed 
ward  Becenti,  he  began  the  difficult  task  of 
translating  portions  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  into 
Navaho.  In  this  work  he  experienced  what 
every  fellow-misisonary  has  experienced  when 
setting  himself  to  the  same  task,  namely,  that 
certain  words,  to  express  spiritual  things  con 
tained  in  the  Bible,  were  not  found  in  the  Nav- 
•aho  vocabulary.  New  Navaho  words  had  to  be 
coined,  therefore,  and,  of  course,  such  words  as 
would  convey  the  correct  meaning  of  the  scrip 
ture  passage  to  the  mind  of  the  Indian  groping 
in  ignorance  and  superstition  concerning  truly 
spiritual  matters.  No  one  will  deny  that  this 


136          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

is  surely  one  of  the  most  difficult  tasks  that  any 
man  can  undertake.  After  months,  yea  years, 
of  painstaking  translating  and  revising,  again 
and  again,  the  first  portions,  considered  to  be  the 
most  necessary  for  immediate  use  to  bring  the 
Gospel  to  the  Navahoes  in  their  homes,  were 
prepared,  and  in  1910  he  saw  his  efforts  re 
warded  by  the  publication  of  God  Bi  Zad. 
Gdesziz  Inda  Mark  (Genesis  and  Mark)  in  Nav- 
aho.  It  was  published  by  the  American  Bible 
Society,  which  has  as  its  purpose  the  translation, 
publication,  and  circulation  of  the  Holy  Scrip 
tures,  without  note  or  comment,  in  all  languages 
and  in  all  lands.  He  was  also  instrumental  in 
giving  to  the  younger  Navahoes  the  first  Chris 
tian  Hymns  in  their  own  language. 

From  1900  to  1913  the  Rev.  L.  P  and  his  wife 
labored  at  Tohatchi,  and  their  work  was  not  in 
vain  in  the  Lord.  In  addition  to  his  work  of 
translating  and  writing,  to  which  we  have  re 
ferred  above,  he  taught  the  children  at  the  Gov 
ernment  Boarding  School  during  the  week  and 
on  the  Lord's  Day.  As  fruit  upon  this  work, 
many  believed  the  Gospel  message  delivered,  ac 
cepted  Christ  Jesus  as  Savior,  requested  and  re 
ceived  Christian  baptism.  In  one  single  year  no 
less  than  thirty-five  were  added  to  the  Church. 

Another  work  that  was  begun  at  Tohatchi 
was  the  training  of  young  men  to  become  work 
ers  in  the  Gospel  among  their  own  people.  For 
more  than  two  years  there  were  three  students 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         137 

in  a  Training  School  for  Native  Workers  that 
was  established  under  the  supervision  of  the  Mis 
sionary,  who  also  taught  them  to  read  the  Word 
of  God  in  their  own  language  as  well  as  in  some 
branches  of  Theology,  while  they  .were  in 
structed  in  the  higher  academical  branches,  first 
by  Jacob  C.  Morgan,  and  aftewards  by  Miss  Car 
rie  Ten  Houten  and  Rev.  D.  H.  Muyskens.  If  this 
work  had  been  continued,  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely 
that  today  we  might  have  had  at  least  one  or 
two  ordained  Native  Missionaries,  but  difference 
of  opinion  with  respect  to  this  school  and  its 
further  development  led,  first  to  its  transfer  from 
Tohatchi  to  Rehoboth,  when  Rev.  Brink  was 
compelled  because  of  sickness  to  abandon  the 
field  for  a  time,  and  after  another  year  it  was 
discontinued,  mostly  because  of  the  lack  of 
unanimity  in  regard  to  the  character  this  Train 
ing  School  should  assume.  The  last  decision  in 
this  matter,  after  a  Union  .School  with  the  Pres 
byterians  failed  to  materialize,  has  been  to  re 
open  it  at  Rehoboth  with  the  two  Brinks,  Rev. 
L.  P.  and  Rev.  J.  W.,  to  have  charge  of  the  in 
struction.  No  scholars  or  students  being  avail 
able,  this  latest  decision  has  not  been  carried  out. 
Personally  it  seems  to  us  that  such  a  school 
should  rather  be  located  in  such  a  district  where 
to  a  great  extent  it  might  become  a  self-support 
ing  institution.  We  are  thinking  of  a  location  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Farmington,  where  it  would 
be  possible  to  raise  all  the  necessary  vegetables 


138          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

for  the  table,  etc.,  and  where  it  would  be  possible 
for  the  attending  students  in  different  ways  to 
earn  something  toward  their  tuition.  This  is,  in 
our  estimation,  one  of  the  greatest  problems  for 
the  Church  to  settle  at  this  time.  The  whole  fu 
ture  of  our  Mission  to  the  Indians  will  depend  in 
the  future  upon  well  and  correctly  trained 
native  workers. 

At  the  time  when  these  three  young  men,  Paul 
Jones,  Hugh  Denitdele,  and  James  Becenti,  were 
in  training  at  Tohatchi,  a  printing-press  was 
also  set  up  and  operated.  Different  portions  of 
the  Scriptures  and  other  religious  literature, 
translated  or  written  by  the  Missionary,  was  set 
up  and  printed  on  this  press  by  the  boys.  It  was 
in  1913  that  Rev.  Brink  was  taken  sick  and  fin 
ally  forced  to  leave  the  field.  He  went  to  Cali 
fornia  and  spent  somewhat  more  than  a  year  in 
Home  Mission  work  among  our  own  people  who 
were  beginning  to  settle  in  this  State  in  ever- 
increasing  numbers.  During  this  stay  in  beauti 
ful  California  Brother  Brink  regained  his  own 
health,  but  the  Lord  took  unto  Himself  the  help 
meet  of  His  servant  and  left  him  and  his  chil 
dren  to  mourn  the  loss  of  one  who  had  been  their 
help  and  support  during  all  the  trials  and  disap 
pointments.  When  he  returned  to  the  Indian 
field  with  his  motherless  children,  his  former 
place  was  occupied,  so  the  three  churches  of 
Roseland,  Chicago,  Illinois,  which  were  now  sup 
porting  him  as  their  Missionary,  sent  him  to  Two 


IN       HOG  AN       AND       PUEBLO         139 

Grey  Hills,  to  take  up  the  work  there,  begun  by 
Mrs.  E.  Sipe  and  Mr.  William  Mierop.  After  liv 
ing  here  for  some  time,  he  was  deprived  of  his 
home  and  many  personal  effects  by  a  hurricane, 
which  completely  demolished  the  house  so  that 
the  family  was  compelled  to  seek  shelter  in  what 
had  once  been  set  up  for  a  barn.  At  his  request 
the  Mission  was  transferred  from  Two  Grey  Hills 
to  Toadlena,  bringing  it  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
school  where  part  of  his  work  is  found.  Under 
his  own  supervision  a  new  Manse  and  a  small 
chapel-school  room  were  erected.  In  the  mean 
time  the  Lord  had  also  blessea  him  and  his 
children  with  another  most  efficient  and  compe 
tent  helpmeet  and  mother.  At  Toadlena  they 
are  most  admirably  located.  The  scenery  in  that 
vicinity,  especially  on  a  bright  and  sunny  day, 
of  which  there  are  many  in  New  Mexico,  is  sim 
ply  magnificent,  and  a  superabundance  of  wa- 
er  gives  him  and  his  family  to  enjoy  the  prod 
ucts  of  garden  and  orchard  as  no  other  Mission 
ary  is  able  to  enjoy  them.  The  Government 
School,  at  which  he  gives  the  children  religious 
instruction,  is  constantly  growing.  At  present 
some  eighty  children  are  in  attendance.  The 
field  of  the  Toadlena  district,  as  well  as  of  that 
of  the  Blanco  Canyon  region,  is  being  taken  care 
of  with  the  aid  of  two  faithful  assistants,  Hud 
son  Bainbridge  and  Hugh  Denitdele,  both  Chris 
tian  Navahoes.  Mrs.  Denitdele  is  Fanny  Becenti, 


140          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

a  graduate  nurse  of  our  Rehoboth  Hospital.  How 
they  are  bringing  the  good  tidings  to  the  Nava- 
hoes  in  their  hogans,  is  told  by  the  Rev.  Brink 
as  follows : 

BRINGING  THE  GOSPEL  TO  THE  HOGANS. 


REV.  L.  P.  BRINK,  Missionary  at  Toadlena,  N.  M. 

HTHE  SUBJECT  of  this  paper  is  a  very  inclusive 
•*•  one,  for,  look  at  it  from  whatever  angle  you 
may,  it  includes  all  kinds  of  mission  work,  all 
forms  of  mission  endeavor  among  the  Navaho 
tribe  of  Indians,  either  directly  or  indirectly.  The 
hogan  is  the  home  of  the  Navaho,  and  all  the 
mission  efforts  we  have  put  forth  from  the  very 
beginning  of  our  work  among  them  to  this  day, 
has  had  the  end  in  view  to  bring  the  Gospel  into 
the  homes  of  the  members  of  this  Indian  tribe; 
and  this  purpose  will  not  be  altered  in  the  work 
we  are  to  put  forth  still  in  years  to  come. 

It  makes  quite  a  difference  what  you  under 
stand  by  the  word  "hogan."  Pronounce  the 
word,  not  as  an  Irish  name,  spelled  the  same 
way,  but  give  it  a  genuine  Dutch  pronunciation, 
and  you  will  be  very  close  to  the  genuine  Navaho 
pronunciation.  It  is  a  very  common  word 
among  the  Navahoes,  and  simply  means  a  habi 
tation,  a  place  to  dwell  in.  A  Navaho  dwelling 
is  a  Navaho  hogan  and  a  white  man's  dwelling 
is  a  white  man's  hogan.  And  furthermore  in 
the  Navaho  language  a  stable  is  spoken  of  as  a 


142          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

horse's  or  mule's  or  cow's  hogan,  a  dog-kennel 
as  a  dog's  hogan,  a  chicken-coop  as  a  chicken's 
hogan,  a  sheep-corral  as  a  sheep's  hogan;  even 
an  anthill  is  spoken  of  as  the  ants'  hogan,  and 
the  spider's  web  is  the  spider's  hogan. 

A  church  is  called  a  hogan  for  prayer,  a  school 
is  called  a  hogan  for  learning;  a  store  is  called  a 
hogan  for  goods,  all  kinds  of  goods  that  are  sold 
in  it  being  embraced  in  that  term;  a  bank  is  a 
hogan  for  money,  a  drugstore  is  a  hogan  for 
medicine;  a  restaurant  is  a  hogan  for  "eats," 
and  a  round-house  is  a  hogan  for  railroad 
engines. 

It  may  be  a  long  ways  from  the  Navaho's  most 
primitive  form  of  human  habitation  to  the 
grandest  and  most  highly  ornamented  forms  of 
modern  architecture,  but  both  of  these  forms, 
together  with  all  forms  and  styles  of  human 
habitation  that  lie  between  them  are  hogans  and 
are  so  called  in  the  Navaho  language. 

I  take  it  for  granted,  however,  that  the  good 
brother  who  suggested  the  subject,  did  not  for  a 
moment  think  that  we  would  use  that  word  in 
its  widest,  Navaho  meaning,  for  in  that  case  he 
would  require  that  we  would  write  about  bring 
ing  the  Gospel  to  every  human  being  on  the  face 
of  the  globe,  for  they  all  live  in  hogans  of  some 
kind  or  other.  And  let  me  say  it  with  due  rev 
erence,  even  the  Almighty  lives  in  a  hogan,  for 
where  the  English  Bible  says,  "In  My  Father's 
house  are  many  mansions,"  there  the  Navaho 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         143 

Bible  says,  "In  My  Father's  hogan  there  are 
many  abiding-places."  In  the  narrower  sense, 
the  sense  in  which  it  is  used  by  Americans  most 
commonly,  it  is  the  habitation  of  the  Navaho 
Indian,  and  in  that  sense  we  are  intending  to  use 
it  in  the  present  article.  Let  me  tell  you  before 
hand,  that  the  Navahoes  dwell  in  a  variety  of 
habitations,  and  that  the  trend  of  the  more  pro 
gressive  ones  is  toward  better  and  more  sani 
tary  dwellings. 

The  simplest  form  of  Navaho  dwelling  is  a 
brush  shelter,  built  in  the  form  of  a  crescent  or 
half-moon,  the  opening  toward  the  east,  serving 
as  a  door;  these  have  no  roof,  and  as  a  rule  the 
walls  are  not  over  four  feet  high,  they  are  usually 
built  of  brush,  less  often  out  of  stone;  they  are 
usually  built  in  an  hour  or  two,  and  usually 
serve  as  a  temporary  dwelling  in  summer-time. 

An  improvement  on  the  brush  shelter  is  the 
summer  camp,  built  with  a  view  toward  cool 
ness  and  shade;  it  is  built  by  making  a  frame  of 
crotched  posts  in  the  form  of  a  square.  Poles 
are  laid  in  crotches,  thus  forming  open  rect 
angles  of  the  four  sides  and  of  the  roof.  These 
are  then  closed  with  poles,  and  green  branches 
of  trees,  or  even  tumble  weeds,  or  sunflower 
stalks  or  anything  else  that  happens  to  be  handy. 
The  summer  camps  are  roomy  and  well  venti 
lated,  but  they  are  no  protection  against  rain, 
and  they  are  not  used  in  winter. 

Tents  are  used  a  great  deal  by  the  Navahoes, 


144          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

some  are  bought  in  the  store  all  ready-made, 
and  some  are  made  out  of  flour  sacks.  Tents  are 
very  convenient,  because  they  can  be  taken  up, 
moved  to  another  location  and  put  down  again 
in  a  few  moments'  time;  even  your  missionary 
lives  in  a  tent  part  of  the  time;  the  Indians  live 
in  tents  so  that  they  can  pick  up  and  follow  their 
flocks  easily  when  grazing  necessities  makes  it 
urgent  to  do  so,  and  the  missionary  lives  in  a 
tent  to  follow  the  Navahoes,  and  to  visit  them  in 
their  scattered  homes.  Tents  can  be  made  pretty 
comfortable  places  to  live  in.  Some  Navahoes 
live  in  them  the  year  round. 

The  typical  Navaho  hogan  is  an  interesting 
piece  of  architecture;  if  you  will  take  a  rather 
oval-shaped  orange,  cut  it  into  halves  crosswise, 
and  place  both  halves  on  the  table,  flat  side 
down,  you  have  the  typical  shape  of  two  regular 
Navaho  hogans.  They  are  built  out  of  stone  or 
logs,  whichever  happens  to  be  the  nearest  at 
hand;  when  built  of  stone  they  are  more  round; 
when  built  of  logs  they  are  more  of  an  octagon 
shape.  The  inside  is  one  round  room,  sometimes 
they  are  not  over  ten  feet  in  diameter,  some 
times  they  are  thirty;  some  are  very  well  built 
and  some  are  poorly  constructed;  the  absence  of 
floors  and  furniture  is  what  strikes  the  tender 
foot  most  in  entering  them;  fire  is  in  the  middle 
of  the  room,  and  usually  it  is  an  open  fire,  some 
times  it  is  a  stove.  There  is  an  opening  about 
four  feet  in  diameter  in  the  roof,  just  above  the 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         145 

fire.  The  door  is  usually  toward  the  east,  and 
there  are  no  windows  in  the  hogan;  the  floor  is 
earthen,  sheepskins,  tanned  with  the  wool  left 
on,  are  used  for  seats  and  beds,  and  there  are 
blankets  for  covering  at  night.  The  hogan  is  a 
warm  building,  it  is  also  well  ventilated  and  is 
not  draughty;  before  winter  comes  the  outside 
is  well-packed  with  earth.  It  is  in  many  respects 
a  very  sensible  kind  of  dwelling,  and  there  has 
been  many  a  day  in  my  missionary  life  when  a 
Navaho  hogan,  whether  occupied  or  not,  was  a 
more  than  welcome  sight. 

Then  there  are  log  houses  built  in  the  shape 
of  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  and  stone  houses  built  in 
the  same  shape,  sometimes  with  more  than  one 
room;  most  of  these  are  poorly  ventilated,  and 
on  that  account  are  no  improvement  over  the 
regular  hogan;  they  are  built  with  fireplaces, 
and  that  is  a  help  for  ventilation,  but  the  win 
dows  are  small  and  stationary;,  and  in  cold 
weather  the  door  is  not  open  a  great  deal;  they 
are  too  close  and  stuffy. 

Modern  houses  are  few,  but  there  are  some, 
and  there  are  those  who  have  the  ambition  to 
build  more  and  better;  in  fact,  in  the  last 
twenty  years  there  is  a  great  deal  of  improve 
ment  to  be  noticed. 

Another  thing  to  be  noticed  is  that  the  hogans 
are  widely  scattered  over  a  large,  very  extensive 
territory;  the  whole  Navaho  country  is  fully 
as  large  as  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the 


146          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

population  of  this  immense  district  is  not  over 
30,000  all  told. 

One  thing  that  seems  strange  to  a  great  many 
white  people  is  that  the  Navahoes  do  not  as  a 
rule  build  their  houses  alongside  of  the  road, 
like  we  are  used  to  doing,  in  fact  the  impression 
is  often  made  that  the  Indians  prefer  to  hide 
their  dwellings  from  the  gaze  of  passersby. 
Again  I  must  remind  you  of  the  fact  that  this  is 
the  tenderfoot's  impression.  We  should  bear  in 
mind  that  in  the  Navaho  country  the  roads  are 
not  built  on  section  lines,  and  the  country  is  not 
laid  out  in  beautiful  farms,  and  that  mail  is  not 
delivered  from  house  to  house.  The  land  as  a 
whole  is  not  tillable,  only  in  certain  favored  lo 
cations.  The  permanent  homes  of  the  Nava 
hoes  are  not  usually  seen  from  the  roads,  so  that 
travelers  going  thru  often  think  there  are  no 
people  there.  When  the  fact  is  that  they  do  not 
know  where  to  look  for  them.  The  Navaho 
country  is  a  very  windy  country,  and  the  homes 
of  the  Indians  are  mostly  found  in  sheltered  lo 
cations,  where  they  are  protected  by  mountains 
and  hills  and  rocks  and  ridges  against  the  cold, 
chilling  winds.  And  as  these  winds  come  mostly 
from  the  west,  you  will  see  that  this  has  been 
reckoned  with  in  the  location  of  a  building  site, 
and  even  in  the  construction  of  the  hogan  itself. 
The  door  of  the  hogan  is  almost  invariably  to 
ward  the  east,  and  never  toward  the  west.  And 
even  a  missionary,  if  he  is  wise,  when  he  builds 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        147 

his  home,  will  see  to  it  that  it  has  no  doors  and  as 
few  windows  as  possible  toward  the  west.  Their 
building  their  doors  toward  the  east  may  have 
some  superstition  about  it,  but  after  all,  it  is 
good  common  sense  at  the  same  time. 

Oftentimes  one  will  find  a  bunch  of  hogans 
together;  they  usually  belong  to  the  members  of 
one  family;  the  daughters  get  married  and 
usually  their  husbands  come  to  live  near  where 
the  bride's  mother  lives.  There  is  a  queer  sup 
erstition,  gradually  disappearing,  that  if  a  son- 
in-law  gets  to  see  his  mother-in-law  she  will  be 
come  blind,  and  so  it  happens  that  sons-in-law 
are  not  on  too  intimate  terms  with  their  mothers- 
in-law  and  vice  versa. 

The  inmates  of  the  hogan  are  very  much  like 
the  inmates  of  all  other  kinds  of  dwellings, 
father  and  mother  and  children,  sometimes  a 
grandparent  or  two,  and  as  a  rule  they  are  very 
hospitable.  I  do  not  know  that  I  ever  was 
treated  as  an  intruder  when  I  came  to  visit  them. 

An  evil  that  is  gradually  but  slowly  disappear 
ing  from  their  family  life  is  polygamy;  our  Uncle 
Sam  has  a  hand  in  this,  and  our  missionaries  are 
steadily  working  against  this  evil;  under  wise 
guidance  it  ought  to  be  rooted  out  soon.  Sui 
cides  are  very  uncommon  among  this  people, 
and  all  that  have  come  under  my  notice  were 
due  to  polygamy.  Indians  are  beginning  to  rec 
ognize  it  as  wrong  themselves. 

The  religious  life  of  the  inmates  of  the  hogans 


148          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

is  a  subject  on  which  very  much  could  be  said; 
much  more  than  our  present  space  would  allow. 
The  Navahoes  are  a  very  religious  people; 
prayers  and  prayer  songs  among  them  are  not 
a  few.  It  is  very  necessary  for  a  missionary  to 
know  a  good  deal  about  their  own  religion,  in 
fact,  one  cannot  know  nor  understand  the  Nav 
ahoes  unless  they  know  their  religion,  for  they 
look  at  nearly  all  things  in  life  from  a  religious 
standpoint.  Their  religion  is  a  false  religion, 
yet  it  is  not  without  elements  of  divine  truth.  On 
the  whole  one  must  say  that  their  religion  is 
polytheistic,  they  believe  in  multitudinous  gods, 
in  gods  visible  and  invisible;  they  have  tradi 
tions  and  legends  innumerable;  but  they  know 
not  the  God  of  Love  who  sent  His  Son  to  be  the 
Saviour  of  the  world;  the  hogans  are  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  only  true  and  living  God, 
without  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  with 
out  the  Word  of  God;  and  hence  it  is  that  we 
missionaries  have  as  our  appointed  task  to  bring 
the  Gospel  of  salvation  to  the  hogans. 

Let  me  tell  you,  first  of  all,  that  it  is  brought 
there  in  many  different  ways,  and  that  as  the 
Lord  in  His  Providence  opens  the  doors  of  ap 
proach,  we  enter  them.  I  can  best  tell  you  what 
I  mean  by  this  by  looking  over  the  beginnings 
of  our  work.  The  great  missionary,  Paul,  used 
good  policy  in  his  work  by  entering  first  into  the 
synagogue  of  the  Jews  to  preach  the  Gospel  there 
first  of  all,  and  from  there  to  expand  into  wider 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         149 

activities.    We  were  pretty  much  compelled  to 
follow  in  his  footsteps. 

When  we  first  came  we  did  not  know  the  lan 
guage  of  the  Indians,  and  the  Indians  could  not 
understand  our  language;  plainly  it  was  our 
duty  to  learn  their  language,  and  we  set  about  it 
as  soon  as  we  could.  That  was  preparatory  to 
bringing  the  Gospel  to  the  hogans;  we  have  often 
begrudged  the  many  hours  and  days  that  we  had 
to  spend  in  dry  language  study,  but  it  was  nec 
essary.  At  the  same  time  there  was  an  open 
door  for  us :  the  United  States  Government  had 
established  Boarding  Schools  among  the  Nav- 
ahoes,  and  we  were  given  the  privilege  of  giving 
religious  instruction  to  the  pupils  of  these 
schools.  We  rejoiced  in  the  privilege,  and  thru 
this  method  of  preaching  the  Gospel,  just  as  soon 
as  we  saw  an  opened  door,  we  had  our  chance  to 
do  our  first  religious  work.  And  in  course  of 
time  it  has  met  with  most  encouraging  results, 
and  many  a  time  the  pupils  in  their  vacation 
time  brought  home  to  their  parents  the  message 
that  had  been  taught  them  in  Sunday  school  and 
catechism  classes.  They  were  a  preparation  for 
the  Gospel  to  the  hogans,  in  fact,  it  was  thru 
their  instrumentality  that  the  name  of  the 
Blessed  Saviour  was  first  brought  to  the  hogans. 
It  was  often  thru  the  acquaintance  of  these  pu 
pils  with  the  missionaries  that  the  missionaries 
were  accorded  a  welcome  when  they  came  to  the 
Indian  hogans. 


150          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

There  were  on  the  Reservation  always  a  few 
educated  Indians;  they  were  but  a  very  small 
per  cent  of  the  tribe,  and  their  education  as  a 
rule  was  but  a  very  small  per  cent  of  what  it 
ought  to  be;  but  naturally  the  missionary  came 
into  contact  with  these  first  of  all,  because  he 
could  converse  with  them  more  or  less,  and  give 
them  some  kind  of  an  idea  of  what  he  was 
among  them  for.  Here  was  another  door  stand 
ing  a  little  ajar,  and  it  was  entered  as  oppor 
tunity  offered.  Some  of  the  Indians  who  are 
prominent  in  our  work  today  have  come  into 
contact  with  our  mission  work  in  just  that  way, 
such  as  Edward  Becenti  and  Jacob  G.  Morgan 
and  Hudson  Bainbridge;  men  who  in  many  ways 
have  been  and  are  a  credit  and  a  great  help  to 
us  in  our  work.  - 

One  matter  of  far-reaching  importance  result 
ing  directly  from  work  in  this  line,  was  that  it 
brought  us  into  contact  with  young  men  who 
could  serve  as  interpreters.  Our  first  way  of 
bringing  the  Gospel  to  the  hogans  where  English 
was  not  understood,  was  thru  interpreters.  It 
may  not  be  an  ideal  way  of  preaching  the  Gos 
pel  thru  an  interrupter,  as  it  has  often  been  fitly 
called,  but  it  is  the  only  way  in  which  many  of 
our  missionaries  can  talk  to  the  Navahoes  at  all. 
In  fact,  a  good  Christian  interpreter  is  always 
the  missionary's  right  hand  man. 

The  first  Indian  reached  thru  the  interpreter 
is  usually  the  interpreter  himself.  This  is  self- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         151 

evident,  because  he  would  be  with  the  mission 
ary  continually,  would  hear  the  missionary  day 
by  day,  whether  he  were  alone  with  him  or 
wrhether  he  were  talking  for  him  to  other  Indians, 
and  the  message  of  the  Gospel  would  of  neces 
sity  become  clear  and  plainer  to  him  than  to  any 
one  else,  and  in  my  experience  it  happened  that 
even  before  any  of  the  members  of  my  catechism 
classes  applied  for  baptism,  my  interpreter  was 
the  very  first  Navaho  that  asked  to  be  baptized; 
but  soon  after  him,  many  of  the  pupils  asked  to 
be  baptized.  I  am  very  glad  to  say  that  my  first 
adult  convert  is  still  a  missionary's  interpreter, 
and  is  able  to  bring  the  Gospel  message  now  bet 
ter  than  ever. 

The  interpreter,  being  wron  for  Christ,  brought 
the  Gospel  into  his  hogan;  shortly  after  his  own 
baptism  he  requested  baptism  for  his  little  chil 
dren,  and  slowly  his  wife,  who  had  no  school 
education  whatever,  was  won  by  the  Gospel;  so 
here  was  a  case  where  the  Gospel  was  brought  to 
a  hogan,  and  the  Navaho's  dwelling  became  a 
Christian  home.  Was  there  anything  that  could 
delight  a  missionary  more  than  to  see  how  the 
Christian  family  life  was  begun  by  this  family  of 
Navahoes,  and  how  the  children  of  the  family 
were  baptized  in  turn,  how  Christian  education 
was  sought  and  provided  for  them  when  they 
became  of  school  age;  and  also  to  see  that  when 
the  Lord  saw  fit  to  take  one  of  the  little  ones 
home,  the  parents  could  say  with  Job  of  old: 


152          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

"The  Lord  hath  given  and  the  Lord  hath  taken, 
and  blessed  be  the  Name  of  the  Lord."  When 
missionary  and  interpreter  can  work  together  as 
brethren  in  the  Lord,  both  intent  on  bringing  the 
Gospel  into  the  hogans  of  the  Indians,  traveling 
for  miles  and  miles  thru  the  wide  stretches  of 
the  Navaho  country,  bringing  the  message  wher 
ever  opportunity  offers,  many  hardships  become 
pleasures. 

And  in  the  course  of  their  work,  the  Missionary 
becomes  better  acquainted  with  the  Navaho  day 
by  day,  both  with  Navaho  language  and  char 
acter,  and  with  the  Navaho  way  of  looking  at 
things ;  all  of  these  things  make  him  fitter  for  his 
task,  and  at  the  same  time  the  interpreter  learns 
his  English  better,  and  obtains  better  and  clearer 
ideas  on  the  Christian  religion,  and  becomes  bet 
ter  equipped  to  present  the  message  in  accept 
able  terms. 

I  have  never  been  satisfied  to  have  my  inter 
preter  be  nothing  at  all  but  an  interpreter,  to  do 
nothing  but  just  to  tell  over  again  whatever  I 
told  him  to  say  and  to  tell  over  again  to  me 
whatever  an  Indian  wanted  him  to  tell  me,  work 
ing  thru  interpreters  has  always  been  a  regular 
training  school  for  me,  and  I  have  always  aimed 
to  make  their  work  a  regular  training  school 
for  them,  in  order  to  equip  them  better  for  their 
work  right  along.  I  do  not  see  how  any  mis 
sionary  could  be  satisfied  to  do  otherwise. 

In  order  to  make  this  scheme  a  success  a  mis- 


.IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        153 

sionary  must  be  very  careful  in  his  choice  of 
young  men  for  this  work,  and  it  is  very  poor 
policy  to  change  off  interpreters  unless  it  is  ab 
solutely  necessary. 

In  the  beginnings  of  our  work  there  were  no 
Christian  interpreters,  the  best  we  could  do  was 
to  pick  out  such  young  men  as  we  could  get,  who 
had  the  best  educational  equipment  for  inter 
preting,  and  it  was  not  at  all  unusual  for  an  in 
terpreter  to  say  in  the  course  of  his  interpreta 
tion:  "this  is  what  the  missionary  says,  but  I 
do  not  believe  a  bit  of  it  myself." 

At  present  all  of  our  interpreters  are  sincere 
Christian  young  men,  whose  hearts  are  in  the 
work,  and  who  are  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.  And  their  homes  are  Christian  homes, 
examples  of  the  result  of  bringing  the  Gospel 
to  the  hogans. 

A  matter  that  causes  a  missionary  much  grief, 
is  when  a  Christian  young  man  marries  a  young 
woman  who  is  not  a  Christian,  or  when  a  Chris 
tian  young  women  marries  a  man  who  is  not  a 
Christian.  The  results  of  being  unequally  yoked 
with  unbelievers  will  soon  show  up,  and  the 
Christian  life  will  suffer,  if  indeed  it  will  not 
seem  to  be  completely  eclipsed.  Yet  there  are 
examples  where  the  believing  husband  has  been 
the  instrument  in  the  Lord's  hand  to  bring  the 
unbelieving  wife  to  the  Saviour,  and  even  of  the 
believing  wife  being  the  means  the  Lord  used  to 
bring  her  unbelieving  husband  to  Him.  We  can- 


154          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

not  always  know  what  is  wise;  on  general  prin 
ciples  I  never  advise  a  believer  to  marry  an  un 
believer,  but  there  is  a  case  on  record  among  us 
where  a  missionary  vigorously  protested  against 
a  Christian  young  man  marrying  an  uneducated 
and  unchristian  young  women,  where  the  pro 
test  was  not  heeded,  and  the  young  woman  soon 
became  interested  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord  and 
requested  baptism,  and  is  now  living  a  faithful 
Christian  life. 

Now  just  imagine  that  you  are  going  with  me 
on  a  trip  to  bring  the  Gospel  to  the  hogans.  I 
will  try  to  give  you  a  clear  idea  of  how  the  Gos 
pel  is  brought  there.  With  my  interpreter  I  ar 
rive  at  a  Navaho  hogan,  the  dogs  usually  an 
nouncing  our  coming.  We  walk  up  to  the  door, 
greet  the  members  of  the  family  and  are  seated. 
We  tell  them  that  we  are  on  a  friendly  visit  and 
would  like  to  talk  with  them  a  little  while.  They 
will  naturally  ask  who  we  are,  and  where  we 
are  from.  We  may  have  brought  a  chart  with  us 
and  likely  a  Navaho  bible.  It  is  usually  easy  to 
begin  our  conversation  by  talking  about  the 
things  that  happened  in  the  beginning,  about  the 
creation  of  the  world  and  of  man,  and  then 
about  the  Fall  and  its  dire  results  for  the  world 
and  the  human  race,  white  people  and  Indians 
included,  and  then  to  come  to  the  story  of  the 
Son  of  God,  the  Saviour,  and  talk  about  Him  as 
the  Saviour  of  all  kinds  of  people,  Navahoes  in 
cluded.  We  are  in  no  hurry,  we  take  our  time 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         155 

and  explain  as  we  go  along.  In  speaking  in  a 
hogan  we  address  the  head  of  the  family,  others 
listen  and  he  expresses  his  interest  audibly 
at  intervals,  and  once  in  a  while  he  asks  a  ques 
tion.  We  get  around  to  talk  about  prayer  and 
explain  it  in  the  most  childlike  simplicity,  how 
that  real  prayer  is  not  a  complicated  ceremony, 
but  like  a  child  talking  to  its  father  or  mother, 
and  the  loving-kindness  of  the  heavenly  Father 
in  listening  to  our  petitions.  We  encourage  in 
terested  listeners  in  asking  questions,  and  we 
close  our  little  meeting  by  asking  our  host 
whether  it  pleases  him  that  one  of  our  number 
offer  prayer  in  his  hogan  before  we  depart.  He 
agrees,  at  least  I  have  never  yet  seen  a  case 
where  he  did  not,  and  then  the  first  Christian 
prayer  ever  offered  in  this  hogan  is  brought  be 
fore  the  throne  of  grace.  This  scheme  of  bring 
ing  the  Gospel  is  a  marvel  of  simplicity  and 
adaptability,  and  we  almost  invariably  follow  it 
in  our  first  visit  to  bring  the  Gospel  to  the  hogan. 
Usually  we  are  requested  to  call  again  and  we 
always  make  it  a  point  to  do  so;  we  also  give  the 
family  a  standing  invitation  to  come  to  visit  us, 
and  they  often  make  use  of  it. 

It  will  happen  occasionally  that  we  will  be 
holding  a  meeting,  and  neighboring  Indians  will 
drop  in  to  listen.  We  then  have  songs;  if  my 
wife  is  present  she  will  lead  the  singing  with 
her  violin.  We  read  a  portion  of  Scripture  in 
the  Navaho  language  and  have  prayers  and 


156  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

preaching.  It  matters  little  whether  the  day  be 
Sunday  or  Monday,  often  we  will  appoint  a  day 
when  they  can  expect  us  to  come  again. 

Gradually  our  native  workers  are  being  de 
veloped  so  they  can  carry  the  message  from 
hogan  to  hogan;  the  Master's  method  of  sending 
them  two  by  two  seems  to  me  to  be  the  most 
preferable,  as  they  mutually  assist  and  encour 
age  one  another.  In  Hudson  Bainbridge  and 
Hugh  Denetdele  I  have  a  pair  of  the  most  trust 
worthy  laborers,  who  often  go  out  together,  and 
sometimes  I  accompany  them.  Their  experi 
ences  are  very  varied  and  interesting,  and  they 
have  brought  the  Gospel  to  hundreds  of  Indian 
hogans,  and  the  Lord  willing,  they  will  bring  it 
to  hundreds  more. 

A  missionary  who  does  camp-work,  as  bring 
ing  the  Gospel  to  the  hogans  is  popularly  called, 
is  of  necessity  a  great  traveler.  Last  September 
my  speedometer  read  a  little  over  3,000  miles, 
while  today,  February  24th,  it  reads  far  over 
8,000  miles,  and  bear  in  mind  that  this  is  for  the 
winter  months,  when  not  one-third  of  the  travel 
ing  is  done  that  is  done  in  the  summer  months, 
and  this  does  not  include  trips  on  foot  or  on 
horseback  or  with  team  and  wagon.  All  of  these 
methods  of  travel  must  be  used  in  bringing  the 
Gospel  to  the  hogans.  Sometimes  an  enormous 
amount  of  time  is  saved  by  going  with  an  auto 
mobile,  and  sometimes,  when  weather  and  roads 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        157 

are  abominable,  enormous  garage  bills  are  saved 
by  traveling  in  old-fashioned  style. 

A  great  help  to  us  in  our  camp-work  are  the 
translations  of  Scripture  which  we  have  in  the 
Navaho  language;  they  are  in  constant  use.  Bib 
lical  phraseology  is  a  matter  that  confuses  many 
interpreters.  But  with  the  translations  on  which 
years  of  painstaking  study  have  been  expended 
by  missionaries  and  interpreters,  our  inter 
preters  who  are  familiar  with  these,  have  a  great 
advantage  over  young  men,  however  well  edu 
cated,  who  are  not  familiar  with  Bible  expres 
sions  in  Navaho  dress.  The  Bible  is  full  of  ex 
pressions  which  are  not  in  use  in  the  everyday 
life  of  the  Indians,  and  an  interpreter  must  know 
how  to  express  these  in  his  talks  to  his  people. 
This  requires  preliminary  training,  and  this 
training  progresses  as  the  mission  work  pro 
gresses.  Assisting  the  missionary  in  making 
translations  is  fine  training  for  native  workers. 
During  the  past  months  I  have  been  translating 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  with  my  native  assis 
tants  and  it  has  proved  to  be  a  regular  theolog 
ical  education  for  all  of  us. 

Sunday  school  cards  and  charts  often  find 
their  way  into  the  hogans  and  become  interesting 
to  the  inmates  when  the  story  represented  is 
made  plain  to  them.  In  hogans  where  there  are 
young  people  who  have  been  educated,  religious 
literature  is  introduced.  And  gradually  Bibles 
and  Testaments  are  introduced. 


158          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

But  as  the  great  majority  of  the  people  are  il 
literate,  the  mission  of  the  written  word  is  very 
limited,  hence  it  is  a  necessity  that  the  message 
of  the  spoken  Word  be  brought  everywhere.  And 
as  the  hogans  are  scattered  far  and  wide  over  a 
rough,  barren,  mountainous  region,  the  follow- 
up  visits  are  often  few  and  far  between.  And  yet 
they  are  necessary.  We  do  not  consider  that  our 
duty  is  done,  like  some  missionaries  do,  when  we 
have  visited  a  hogan  and  have  spoken  there  of 
the  Saviour.  It  is  an  impossibility  to  make  the 
message  of  salvation  plain  to  people  to  whom  its 
message  is  absolutely  foreign  in  one  or  two  con 
versations.  In  many  cases  the  way  the  message 
was  presented  by  missionaries  is  absolutely  un 
intelligible  to  the  Indian.  We  cannot  consider 
having  fulfilled  our  duty  as  long  as  our  brother 
or  sister  Indian  is  in  the  land  of  the  living,  and 
even  then  it  is  a  question  not  to  be  lightly  dis 
missed  whether  we  have  been  faithful  to  our 
trust. 

Whether  the  message  is  accepted  or  rejected 
or  held  in  consideration,  we  feel  that  in  all  cases 
we  must  bring  the  Gospel  to  the  same  people  and 
to  the  same  hogan  over  and  over  again.  Never 
theless  we  rely  upon  the  promise  that  the  Spirit 
will  accompany  and  follow  up  the  message,  so 
that  we  can  leave  the  results  to  Him. 

And  we  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  the  Gospel  is 
gaining  ground  and  making  headway  in  the  ho- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         159 

gans  of  those  uneducated,  so  that  already  the 
firstfruits  of  this  labor  are  being  gathered  in. 

Bringing  the  Gospel  to  the  hogans  calls  for 
careful  and  prayerful  preparation,  constant  en 
deavor  and  hard  work  and  patient  endurance, 
both  physically  and  mentally.  It  requires  knowl 
edge  of  the  Indian  language  and  character  and 
religion,  an  appreciation  of  all  that  is  deserving 
of  appreciation  in  them,  and  a  persistent  en 
deavor  to  present  the  message  of  the  Saviour 
of  men  to  them;  one  thing  that  surprises  many  of 
us  is  the  persistence  with  which  they  cling  lo 
their  own  religion,  and  one  can  not  help  but 
think  how  beautiful  this  same  characteristic  will 
be  when,  with  their  hearts,  they  will  have  ac 
cepted  Christ  as  their  Saviour. 

We  have  not  planned  in  this  article  to  give  a 
detailed  account  of  hardships  and  such  like 
which  a  missionary's  life  among  the  Navahoes 
entails,  about  camping  out  and  sleeping  in  the 
open,  about  sandstorms  and  quicksands  and 
blizzards  and  swollen  streams,  about  scanty 
fare  oftentimes,  about  broken  rigs  and  played- 
out  teams,  about  losing  our  way  in  this  great 
expanse  of  territory,  and  about  multitudinous 
delays  and  disappointments.  After  all,  these 
are  all  in  the  day's  work  when  we  bring  the 
Gospel  to  the  hogans. 

A  soldier  does  not  enlist  in  the  army  expect 
ing  to  find  a  soft  snap,  if  he  has  any  sense  at  all, 
and  neither  should  a  missionary  to  the  Navahoes 


160          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

expect  such,  in  fact,  he  should  expect  to  endure 
hardship  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
battle  may  be  long  and  tiresome,  but  the  victory 
is  assured,  the  cause  of  our  Lord  and  Master  is 
going  to  win  out  in  the  end.  Let  us  be  of  good 
courage  as  soldiers  of  the  cross  and  keep  on 
bringing  the  Gospel  to  the  hogans. 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         161 


VIII. 

LAY-WORKERS    IN    OUR    INDIAN    MISSION 
SERVICE 

ONLY  FOR  WANT  of  a  better  term  to  express 
what  we  mean,  we  speak  of  lay-workers. 
That  there  is  great  need  as  well  as  great  oppor 
tunities  for  such  workers  in  the  Indian  Mission 
Service,  is  a  self-evident  fact.  There  are  num 
erous  positions  at  any  and  every  well-estab 
lished  Mission  for  both  men  and  women  who 
for  various  reasons  have  not  been  able  to  obtain 
the  necessary  education  and  training  for  ordi 
nation  or  professional  service.  These  quiet,  un 
assuming,  consecrated  workers,  to  be  found  at 
every  Mission,  are  the  ones  who  are  generally 
doing  more  for  the  advancement  of  the  great 
cause  than  any  one  of  us  ordinarily  imagines. 
Eternity  alone  will  probably  reveal  what  has 
been  accomplished  thru  their  humble  services. 
In  our  work  among  the  Navahoes  and  Zunies 
we  also  find  several  of  these  humble,  ever-will 
ing,  consecrated  workers.  First  of  all  we  are 
reminded  of  the  Matrons,  whose  work  indeed 
must  be  trying  and  arduous.  At  Rehoboth  we 
have  one  in  charge  of  the  boys',  and  one  in 
charge  of  the  girl's  dormitory.  They  each  have 
fifty  children  under  their  supervision  during  all 
the  hours  that  they  are  not  otherwise  engaged. 


162          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Imagine  being  mother  to  fifty  boys  or  girls, 
ranging  in  age  from  five  or  six  to  eighteen  or 
older.  Each  one  a  different  character,  different 
shortcomings  and  failures,  different  desires  and 
ambitions,  etc.  A  thousand  questions  a  day 
must  be  answered,  a  hundred  and  one  things 
must  be  looked  after.  Are  they  washed,  combed, 
brushed,  clothes  clean  and  whole?  Have  they 
studied  their  lessons,  read  the  Bible  and  prayed, 
memorized  their  catechism  lessons?  Here  are 
little  difficulties  between  two  or  more  that  must 
be  ironed  out,  there  grave  disputes  have  arisen 
that  must  be  settled.  Beds  must  be  made,  the 
rooms  kept  clean,  etc.,  etc.  And  all  of  it  must 
be  done  in  a  spirit  that  will  point  to  Him,  for 
Whom  and  for  Whose  cause  the  service  is  ren 
dered.  The  Matron  at  Zuni  has  thirty-five  chil 
dren  to  look  after,  but  these  do  not  live  with 
her  in  a  dormitory,  for  the  school  at  Zuni  is  not 
a  boarding,  but  a  day  school,  and  the  children 
board  and  lodge  at  home.  Each  Monday  morn 
ing  she  must  be  ready  to  give  each  boy  and  girl 
a  thorough  scrubbing  from  head  to  foot,  for  af 
ter  a  week  at  home  this  is  indeed  more  than  nec 
essary.  At  this  weekly  (not  weakly)  bath,  they 
also  shed  their  soiled  and  torn  garments,  ex 
changing  them  for  the  fresh,  clean  and  whole 
ones  the  Matron  has  ready  for  them.  The  wash 
ing,  ironing,  sewing,  and  mending  of  all  these 
clothes  is  no  little  task  in  itself,  but  in  addition 
to  that  she  teaches  the  girls  how  to  wash  and 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         153 

iron,  sew  and  mend.  During  certain  afternoons 
of  each  week  she  calls  on  all  the  English-speak 
ing  women  of  the  village,  reading  to  them  and 
seeking  to  get  them  interested  in  their  soul's 
eternal  welfare.  Ah!  these  Matrons  are  not  of 
ten  thought  of,  but  they  are  doing  a  great  work 
in  humble  service. 

At  Rehoboth  we  also  find  a  Seamstress  to  look 
after  the  sewing  and  mending  at  this  post,  and  a 
Laundress  to  look  after  the  washing  and  ironing 
of  School  and  Hospital.  In  doing  this  work  they 
are  helped  by  a  detail  of  children,  but  in  turn 
they  are  expected  to  instruct  these  children  in 
doing  these  things,  so  that  after  graduating  they 
will  know  how  to  take  care  of  their  own  clothes. 

Furthermore,  we  find  two  at  Rehoboth  whose 
positions  are  designated  as  Housekeeper-cooks. 
They  are  in  charge  of  the  Mission  House;  here 
the  several  employees  have  their  rooms;  here 
you  find  two  dining-rooms,  one  for  the  em 
ployees  and  one  for  the  hundred  children;  here 
you  also  find  a  home-room,  where  the  workers 
can  sit  or  lie  down  for  a  little  rest  or  fellowship 
between  working  periods,  and  last  but  not  least, 
you  find  here  the  large,  well-equipped  kitchen, 
where  these  two  cooks  reign  and  prepare  the 
meals  for  employees,  children  and  hospital  pa 
tients.  Surely  you,  who  read  this,  need  not  envy 
any  of  these  workers,  thinking  that  their  yoke  is 
easy  and  their  burden  light;  but  you  may  be 
jealous  of  them  because  their  work  is  not  simply 


164          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

humanitarian,  but  an  opening  of  the  way  for  the 
higher  service  of  the  teacher,  physician,  and 
preacher.  All  these  positions,  you  will  no  doubt 
have  understood,  are  filled  by  daughters  of  our 
Church,  and  we  thank  God  that  He  has  inclined 
their  hearts  unto  this  work.  They  do  it  out  of 
love  for  Him  or  they  would  not  do  it  at  all. 
There  is  still  one  more  lady  assistant  at  Reho- 
both  and  she  is  the  Clerk,  in  charge  of  the  office 
and  the  correspondence.  The  volume  of  mis 
sion  business  is  ever  on  the  increase,  books  must 
be  kept  systematically,  records  must  be  accurate 
and  filed  carefully,  letters,  official  and  private, 
must  be  answered.  This  helper  is  no  less  con 
secrated  than  the  others,  for  it  has  happened 
several  times  during  her  incumbency  that  she 
has  served  in  the  capacity  of  other  employees 
when  they  were  compelled  to  resign  because  of 
sickness,  and  their  places  could  not  immediately 
b6  filled. 

The  male  employees  at  Rehoboth  are  the 
Manager  and  his  assistants,  of  whom  we  will  not 
speak  at  this  time,  seeing  we  will  meet  them  in 
the  Chapter  on  Industrial  Missions.  But  other 
lay-workers  are  the  unordained  men,  with  their 
interpreters,  in  charge  of  some  branch  of  direct 
religious  work.  Such  a  one  is  found  at  Zuni  in 
the  capacity  of  boys'  worker.  He  is  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Zuni  Indian  Y.  M.  C.  A.  located  at 
that  post.  He  is  also  assistant  to  the  Missionary, 
and  thru  correspondence,  keeps  in  touch  with 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         155 

the  Zuni  boys  at  non-reservation  schools.  His 
main  business,  however,  is  to  work  among  the 
Zuni  boys  who  have  been  to  school,  have  learned 
to  speak  and  use  the  English,  and  having  ac 
quired  some  education,  are  back  in  the  village 
and  at  home.  They  must  be  gathered  in  the 
reading-room  where  they  are  entertained,  in 
structed,  and  urged  to  make  use  of  the  advan 
tages  which  are  theirs  above  others  who  lack  all 
education  and  training.  This  is  a  most  neces 
sary  work  in  order  to  conserve  and  foster  that 
which  has  already  been  gained.  At  Tohatchi 
we  also  find  an  unordained  worker,  who  is  in 
charge  of  all  the  mission  work  at  that  post,  but 
seeing  we  have  a  separate  Chapter  on  his  field 
and  work,  we  need  not  speak  of  it  here. 

A  most  important  position,  filled  by  an  unor 
dained  worker,  is  that  of  Field  or  Camp  Mis 
sionary  at  Rehoboth.  This  is  the  man  who  lives 
at  Rehoboth,  but  finds  his  field  of  activity  out 
among  the  Indians  on  and  off  the  Reservation. 
That  this  is  a  most  necessary,  but  at  the  same 
time  hard  and  trying  job,  cannot  and  will  not 
be  gainsaid  by  anyone.  With  his  interpreter  he 
wanders  over  the  Reservation,  now  here  and 
then  there;  at  night  the  great,  unlimited  expanse 
of  territory  is  his  hotel,  the  ground  his  bed,  the 
beautiful  dome  of  heaven  his  canopy,  while  the 
camp-meals  are  prepared  and  served  by  himself 
or  interpreter.  The  only  and  supreme  purpose 
of  it  all  is  that  the  Navaho,  whether  able  to  un- 


166          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

derstand  English  or  not,  living  in  the  darkness 
of  ignorance,  sorrow  and  sin,  shall  hear  of  that 
blessed  name  given  under  heaven  among  men 
whereby  sinners  must  be  saved.  The  man, 
who  occupies  this  position  at  the  present  time  is 
Brother  Mierop.  His  first  service  on  the  Indian 
field  was  rendered  when  he  was  in  charge  of  the 
Two  Grey  Hills  Mission.  After  a  brief  stay  at 
this  place,  he  returned  to  Chicago,  Illinois,  his 
former  home,  expecting  to  take  up  regular 
training  for  mission  service.  Later  he  resumed 
his  work  among  the  Indians,  working  under  the 
direction  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  At  pres 
ent  he  lives  at  Rehoboth,  but  labors  among  the 
Indians  of  the  adjacent  region.  That  such  work 
is  rich  in  experiences,  both  amusing  and 
pathetic,  is  easily  understood.  Intensely  inter 
esting  is  therefore  his  own  story  on  this  sub 
ject,  and  we  sincerely  hope  you  will  enjoy 
reading  it.  Brother  William  Mierop  is  a  sincere, 
capable  and  consecrated  servant  of  the  Lord, 
and  we  believe  he  is  exceptionally  well-fitted 
and  qualified  for  the  work  entrusted  to  him. 
May  the  Lord  be  with  him  and  his  assistant,  sus 
tain  and  protect  them,  as  they  go  up  and  down 
the  country  proclaiming  the  Good  News  to  the 
Navahoes,  and  may  it  be  given  unto  them  to 
bear  hardships  as  true  soldiers  of  the  Cross. 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO        167 
CAMPING  WITH  THE  NAVAHOES 

(MY  PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES) 


WILLIAM  MIEROP,   Camp-Worker  at  Rehoboth,  N.  M. 

TT  HAS  BEEN  SAID  that  if  you  want  to  punish 
*  any  one,  compel  him  to  camp  for  a  while.  At 
first  it  is  an  innovation,  but  as  the  time  goes  by 
it  becomes  burdensome,  monotonous.  It  has  a 
sameness  that  weighs  on  one's  mind,  hence  an 
appropriate  way  of  meting  out  punishment. 

To  those  who  have  been  redeemed  thru  the 
precious  blood  of  the  Lamb,  camping  with  the 
Navahoes,  in  order  to  give  them  the  Message  of 
Salvation,  is  a  rare  privilege.  I  deem  it  a  great 
honor  to  be  a  co-worker  with  the  Lord,  and 
count  it  great  joy  when  it  is  necessary  for  me 
to  be  a  co-sufferer  with  Him. 

Of  course,  you  can  readily  understand  that 
camping  with  the  Navahoes  incurs  many  diffi 
culties  and  amusing  incidents,  apart  from  the 
blessed  work  of  giving  them  the  Gospel.  I  re 
member  distinctly  the  time  I  came  to  work 
among  the  Indians.  I  was  the  youngest  mis 
sionary  on  the  field— not  quite  25  years  of  age 
then.  I  thought  I  would  do  some  camp-work 
to  tell  them  about  our  Lord.  I  was  pretty 
"green,"  I  assure  you.  When  we  came  to  a 
hogan  where  a  Navaho  lived,  I  jumped  out  of 
the  buggy  and  walked  to  this  hogan.  'Now  you 
know,  I  presume,  that  very  few  Navahoes  have 
wooden  doors,  only  a  blanket,  and  when  they 


168          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

want  to  enter,  all  they  do  is  to  push  the  blanket 
or  canvas  to  one  side  and  walk  in.  Well,  I 
stood  before  this  hogan,  skinning  my  knuckles, 
knocking  on  the  posts  that  supported  the  blan 
ket.  I  knocked  and  knocked  and  I  was  wonder 
ing  why  in  the  wide  world  they  didn't  yell, 
"Come  in!"  The  Navahoes  on  their  part  won 
dering  who  that  crazy  person  was  (for  that  was 
really  said) .  If  he  wanted  to  come,  why  doesn't 
he  push  the  flap  aside  and  walk  in.  Whenever 
I  felt  my  poor  bruised  knuckles,  I  got  "sore"  to 
think  that  they  would  keep  a  man  out  there  so 
long,  and  I  knocked  harder  and  harder  each 
time.  This  was  my  first  experience  among  the 
Navahoes. 

As  I  grew  I  gradually  began  to  learn  things. 
It  dawned  upon  me  that  Navahoes  were  a  dif 
ferent  class  of  people  than  the  class  I  belonged 
to.  Keeping  this  thought  ever  in  mind,  it  saved 
me  many  a  painful  experience.  Many  Navahoes 
are  notorious  liars.  Some  take  great  pleasure 
in  lying.  There  are  many  who  try  to  be  aver 
age  careful  with  their  tongue,  but  the  rank  and 
file  seem  to  enjoy  a  lie.  There  was  one  young 
Indian  I  met  who  boasted  of  being  the  biggest 
liar  in  that  part  of  the  country.  Even  his  Nav- 
aho  friends  couldn't  rely  on  him,  and  whenever 
he  said  anything  it  was  taken  with  the  pro 
verbial  grain  of  salt,  only  with  him  they  usually 
took  a  pound.  We  had  given  a  very  strong  ser- 
monette  on  liars  and  their  eternal  destiny  in 


'Last  Call  for  Breakfast."     Eating  near  a  "Devil's"  Home 


170          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

the  lake  of  fire.  It  had  made  an  impression,  we 
could  see.  This  young  Indian  got  up  and  said, 
"My  friend  here  said  a  lie  is  bad,  a  liar  is  worse, 
because  back  of  the  lie  is  the  devil.  It  is  true. 
I  will  try  to  lie  no  more."  I  asked  him  his  name 
and  this  is  what  he  said,  "My  name  is  George 
Washington."  Just  imagine  George  Washing 
ton  having  such  a  name-sake ! 

I  do  not  want  you  to  think  that  every  Navaho 
is  a  liar.  Many  white  people  tell  lies,  and  some 
enjoy  it,  too.  I  met  one  man  who  hated  a  lie. 
He  told  me  if  there  was  anything  or  any  one  he 
hated,  it  was  a  lie  and  a  liar.  I  began  to  have 
confidence  in  this  Indian,  and  told  him  how  glad 
I  was  to  meet  a  Navaho  who  believed  like  he 
did.  I  asked  him  why  he  hated  lies  and  liars, 
and  then  he  told  me  to  wait.  There  was  a  big 
trunk  in  one  corner  of  his  room.  In  this  trunk 
he  rummaged  and  I  began  to  wonder  what  he 
was  up  to,  when  I  heard  him  grunt.  Evidently 
he  got  what  he  was  looking  for.  Imagine  my 
surprise  when  he  came  to  me  wearing  a 
"domine's"  coat  in  regular  style,  walking  and 
strutting  up  and  down  his  kin  or  house,  like  a 
proud  turkey.  He  then  told  me  he  was  wear 
ing  a  missionary's  coat,  and  as  they  never  lied 
and  hated  liars,  so  he  must  too,  for  "don't  I 
wear  a  long  coat?"  He  couldn't  lie  while  he 
had  that  kind  of  a  coat  on ! 

While  this  Indian  was  proud  because  he  pos 
sessed  a  preacher's  coat,  there  are  others 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         m 

equally  proud  who  have  no  coat  and  for  other 
reasons.  You  are  acquainted,  no  doubt,  with 
the  Navaho  superstition  of  the  son-in-law  look 
ing  at  his  mother-in-law.  If  they  should  look  at 
one  another  they  would  get  blind.  Sometimes 
they  have  to  be  pretty  fleet  of  foot  to  escape  the 
mother-in-law.  Very  often  the  children  hang 
around  the  hogan  entrance  to  see  if  the  coast  is 
clear.  If  the  son-in-law  is  seen  coming  or  the 
mother-in-law,  there  is  a  wild  scramble  and  a 
flight.  One  would  think  they  would  get  tired  of 
it,  but  no,  it  goes  on  day  after  day.  They  don't 
care  to  separate  and  live  in  another  locality,  so 
this  superstitious  fear  is  constantly  hanging  over 
their  heads  as  Damocles  sword.  We  met  an  In 
dian  one  evening  and  slept  in  his  house  over 
night.  We  had  given  him  the  Sweet  Story  of 
Old  and  we  felt  happy.  When  we  were  thru, 
our  conversation  turned  to  the  mother-in-law 
superstition  and  I  told  my  friend  how  foolish 
it  was,  as  many  white  people  would  be  as  blind 
as  a  bat  if  this  fear  was  true.  My  friend  got  up 
and  replied,  "The  Indians  are  afraid  of  their 
mother-in-law.  Why?  They  don't  know  any 
thing.  They  are  like  children.  Here  am  I,  a 
Navaho,  a  married  man  with  lots  of  children. 
Here  is  my  wife  sitting  alongside  of  me.  Here 
is  my  mother-in-lawT  right  here,  she  is  looking  at 
me,  and  I  am  looking  at  her.  Nothing  to  be 
afraid  of.  I  am  not  blind  and  we  have  looked  at 
each  other  for  many  years.  The  other  Nav- 


172          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

ahoes  have  no  sense."  I  thought  that  was  mighty 
fine.  Oh,  if  only  others  would  follow,  I  thought! 
I  am  glad  I  thought  it  and  never  spoke  my 
thoughts,  because  when  I  asked  him  how  many 
wives  he  had,  he  said,  "Two.  This  is  one  and 
my  mother-in-law  is  the  other!"  He  had  fol 
lowed  the  Navaho  custom  of  "marry  the  mother 
you  get  the  daughter,  too."  No  wonder  the  foxy 
Indian  wasn't  afraid  because  his  mother-in-law 
was  his  wife  as  well  as  his  mother-in-law's 
daughter. 

While  some  try  and  fool  you  as  this  Navaho 
tried  and  almost  succeeded,  there  are  others 
who  would  not  condescend  to  do  such  things. 
They  prefer  another  method.  Sometimes  you 
can  forestall  them.  I  did  it  once.  We  were  out 
many  days  and  dead  tired  when  we  came  to  a 
hogan  where  they  were  holding  a  religious 
ceremony.  Some  one  had  had  a  bad  dream,  so 
the  medicine  man  thought  it  wise  to  have  a 
ceremony,  so  this  bad  dream  wouldn't  come 
true.  Well,  we  were  there,  ready  for  an  oppor 
tunity  to  tell  them  about  the  Crucified  but  Risen 
Lord.  We  did  so,  and  when  thru,  this  medicine 
man  asked  us  several  questions  about  our  story. 
Finally  he  told  me  that  he  was  the  best  Navaho 
doctor  on  all  the  Reservation.  There  were  none 
better.  After  a  while  I  told  this  medicine  man 
I  had  a  terrible  pain  right  in  the  middle  of  my 
stomach.  Couldn't  he  help  me,  as  he  was  the 
best  of  all  the  doctors?  My,  it  was  getting  Worse! 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        173 

This  old  fellow  began  to  get  worried  and  looked 
appealingly  at  me  until  I  looked  at  my  watch, 
and  no  wonder  I  had  that  terrible  gnawing 
pain.  It  was  12  o'clock  and  time  to  eat,  after 
which  the  hunger  pain  left  me.  How  chagrined 
he  was  can  be  easily  imagined !  He  became  one 
of  my  best  friends.  At  certain  places  they  had 
no  time  to  hear  the  Gospel,  but  my  friend  invar 
iably  made  time  for  me. 

All  medicine  men  or  Navaho  doctors  are  not 
that  courteous.  Sometimes  to  their  own  people 
they  are  gruff  and  scold.  Especially  when  other 
"doctors"  are  busy  or  scarce,  then  they  act  a 
little  rough  and  independent.  In  our  camping 
with  the  Navahoes  we  ran  across  one  crusty  old 
fellow  who  had  just  completed  a  ceremony  over 
a  baby  who  had  been  very  sick.  We  began  to 
speak  about  the  baby,  and  when  the  mother 
went  out  to  get  some  wood,  he  confided  to  us 
that  he  could  cure  the  baby,  but  these  people 
were  stingy,  so  he  didn't  heal  the  baby,  saying 
another  and  a  different  kind  of  ceremony  was 
needed.  We  told  him  he  ought  to  go  to  jail  if 
he  could  cure  this  poor  sick  child  and  refused  on 
account  of  small  payment,  and  I  would  report  it 
to  the  Agent  when  I  got  back.  Then  he  became 
just  as  nice  as  could  be,  vowing  with  the  next 
song  he  would  cure  the  child.  And  he  did,  too. 

You  understand,  of  course,  there  are  Navaho 
doctors  who  are  conscientious  and  wouldn't  per 
form  two  ceremonies  where  one  would  suffice. 


174          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Many  of  them  are  like  our  doctors  in  that  re 
spect,  if  you  will  pardon  the  comparison.  A 
number  of  them  began  to  know  us,  and  when 
ever  we  ate  with  them  they  invariably  waited 
for  me  to  ask  a  blessing.  I  can't  always  say  this 
of  some  white  people  I  meet  with.  Once,  after 
many  days  in  camp,  we  arrived  at  an  Indian 
Trading  Store.  It  was  evening  and  we  were 
thankful  we  were  going  to  get  a  good  place  to 
sleep  in.  This  white  trader  invited  us  to  supper. 
While  setting  the  table,  it  was  just  one  curse 
after  another.  Every  other  word  was  a  swear 
word.  No  place  for  me,  I  thought!  When  we 
sat  down  to  supper,  this  white  man  was  still 
swearing,  first  at  this  and  then  at  that,  because 
there  was  no  milk,  then  because  there  was  no 
jelly.  This  trader  began  to  reach  for  things, 
when  I  said,  "Let's  pray,"  and  then  with  an  "I'll 
be  blowed"  from  the  trader,  I  asked  a  blessing. 
From  that  time  he  never  swore  when  I  was 
around.  Another  trader,  knowing  I  was  a  mis 
sionary,  would  test  me  from  time  to  time.  The 
last  time  I  cured  him  when  he  put  a  record  on 
his  phonograph  and  requested  me  to  dance  with 
his  wife.  He  said  it  was  a  "two-step."  I  de 
clined,  informing  him  I  didn't  know  anything 
about  a  "two-step,"  but  I  did  know  something 
about  being  one  step  from  hell.  He  never  tried 
me  again. 

It  was  on  one  of  these  trips  that  I  came  to  a 
place  very  much  discouraged.     I  had  no  inter- 


IN       HOG  AN       AND       PUEBLO         175 

preter  and  was  doing  the  best  I  could  in  giving 
the  Navaho  the  Gospel.  It  was  very  hard  work, 
I  can  tell  you.  I  came  to  a  place  where  some 
twenty  or  thirty  Indians  were  gathered.  I  did 
what  I  could,  and  they  understood  all  right,  but 
when  they  began  to  ask  questions,  I  couldn't  an 
swer  because  of  my  lack  of  the  Navaho  language. 
They  said  I  couldn't  answer.  I  was  afraid,  and 
so  on.  I  sure  was  in  a  bad  fix.  All  that  after 
noon  I  noticed  a  young  Indian  all  decked  up  with 
his  beads,  rings,  and  bracelets.  He  had  a  derby 
hat  on  with  the  top  cut  oft',  with  a  string  under 
his  chin.  He  looked  so  comical,  that  many  times 
I  had  all  I  could  do  to  keep  a  straight  face.  Many 
times  I  said  to  myself,  "This  young  man  sure 
looks  like  a  clown  in  the  circus."  I  wondered 
where  he  picked  up  that  old  hat.  When  the 
Navahoes  were  tormenting  me  about  not  answer 
ing  their  questions,  I  breathed  a  quick  but  short 
prayer  to  God  for  help.  Suddenly  some  one  in 
the  rear  began  to  answer  the  questions  in  Nav 
aho.  What  a  relief!  To  my  amazement  I  found 
it  was  my  "clown"  whom  the  Lord  had  sent  to 
help  me.  After  the  sermonette  I  found  out  that 
his  brother  had  heard  the  Gospel,  went  home 
and  told  this  young  man,  his  younger  brother. 
He  believed  the  story  and  began  to  walk  on  God's 
road,  while  his  elder  brother  laughed  at  him. 
How  wonderful  God  works  at  times !  How  past 
finding  out  His  ways! 

This  wonderful  provision  of  God  is  constantly 


176          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

seen  in  our  camping  with  the  Navahoes.  One 
time  we  had  visited  many  Navahoes  in  their 
homes.  We  had  travelled  far  from  home,  when 
our  horses  got  sick,  and  we  didn't  know  what  to 
do  to  help  them.  We  told  the  Lord  about  it,  and 
went  on  our  way.  We  had  rolled  the  burden 
upon  the  Lord,  and  there  we  left  it.  That  after 
noon  we  came  to  an  isolated  store,  where  a 
white  man  met  us.  ''Come  in,  folks.  My,  I'm 
glad  to  see  a  white  man.  Uncle  Sam  sent  me 
away  out  to  this  God-forsaken  country.  Michi 
gan  looks  mighty  fine  to  me  just  now.  Here  it  is 
so  dry  and  barren.  Why  did  the  Government 
send  me,  a  horse  doctor,  out  to  this  place  for  any 
way?"  I  told  him  why;  because  the  Lord  knew 
my  horses  were  to  get  sick  and  provided  a  horse 
doctor  to  help  His  servant  out.  He  fixed  up  my 
horses  in  fine  shape  over  night.  And  what  was 
my  surprise  to  find  out  he  was  a  Hollander  and 
knew  many  people  I  knew  in  Grand  Rapids. 
How  sweet  to  hear  a  few  Holland  words  from 
him,  although  I  couldn't  answer  him  as  good  as 
I  wished  to  in  Holland.  And  he  miles  away 
from  civilization.  Yes,  indeed  the  Lord  takes 
care  of  His  servants.  No  question  about  this  in 
my  mind. 

When  looking  up  Navahoes  to  tell  them  about 
Jesus,  we  are  compelled  to  sleep  wherever  night 
finds  us.  Sometimes  we  sleep  under  a  cedar  or 
pine  tree,  in  the  arroyos,  in  the  hogans — any 
where — as  long  as  we  have  a  place  to  lay  our 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         177 

bedding  down.  During  the  winter,  when  the 
snow  is  deep,  we  must  first  break  off  some  tree 
branches,  and  using  it  as  a  broom,  clear  away 
enough  snow  so  we  can  lay  down.  Very  often 
then  it  snows  all  night,  and  in  the  morning 
everything  is  completely  wet.  In  the  spring  we 
have  sleet  and  sandstorms,  and  in  the  fall  we 
have  the  rainy  season.  Then  frequently  we  are 
aroused  from  our  sleep  by  the  rain.  We  make 
the  best  of  it  until  the  morning,  only  to  find  that 
everything  is  soaked.  One  time  we  laid  in  wa 
ter  practically  all  night,  with  our  shoes  and  other 
articles  all  tucked  nicely  under  the  blankets. 
When  morning  arrived  even  the  shoes  and  the 
matches  were  soaked.  Then  the  breakfast  we 
had  was  a  tin-can  lunch.  We  were  thankful  we 
had  that  to  eat.  But  some  day  I  am  going  to  ar 
range  a  lot  of  canned  goods  before  me  and  say, 
"Now  you  old  tin  cans,  I  am  thru  with  you.  I 
don't  need  you  any  more.  Good-bye,  friend." 
One  gets  so  tired  of  eating  tin-can  lunches,  and 
yet  that  is  the  only  thing  that  keeps  in  hot 
weather.  So  the  camp  trips  go  on;  first  the  tor 
rents  of  rain  in  the  fall,  then  the  hot  desert  blasts 
of  summer,  followed  by  the  snow  and  intense 
cold  of  the  winter  months.  Occasionally  we  find 
a  hogan  to  pass  the  night  in.  If  it  is  empty  we 
are  happy.  Sometimes  it  is  empty  because  it 
is  a  "devil's  home."  A  "devil's  home"  is  a  ho 
gan  where  a  Navaho  died.  They  are  afraid  of 
such  a  place,  therefore  when  one  is  dying  they 


178          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

bring  the  person  out  of  the  hogan  alongside  of  a 
bush  and  there  let  them  die.  Many  of  them  die 
in  the  hogan,  so  they  simply  vacate  it  and  never 
return.  The  visiting  Navaho  soon  finds  out  if  a 
hogan  is  a  "devil's  home,"  so  he  shuns  it.  On 
account  of  the  weather  we  often  sleep  in  one  of 
these  "devil's  homes."  The  poor  Indians  look  at 
us  in  amazement  to  think  we  would  have  the 
courage  to  sleep  in  such  a  place.  But  when  I  tell 
them  how  I  was  lost  once  and  slept  in  a  "devil's 
home,"  where  the  body  was  buried  inside  the 
hogan,  and  am  alive  to  tell  the  tale,  they  first 
think  I  am  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Devil,  then 
they  change  their  mind  and  say  I  am  alive  be 
cause  I  am  the  missionary,  and  God's  Story 
makes  one  brave. 

Whenever  we  come  to  an  inhabited  hogan  we 
always  know  it  long  before  we  get  there. 
Usually  the  dogs  are  reception  committee.  They 
bark  and  make  a  terrible  noise,  so  our  coming  is 
widely  heralded.  When  we  get  nearer  the  chil 
dren  can  then  see  us,  and  oh,  how  they  do  scam 
per  to  tell  mother  and  father  a  white  man  is 
coming!  When  we  finally  arrive  and  walk  in, 
as  we  do  not  knock  any  more,  there  is  usually 
a  sheepskin  for  us  to  sit  on.  These  sheepskins 
are  full  of  lice  generally,  and  if  you  should  sit 
on  one  you  are  sure  of  getting  acquainted  with 
some  very  interesting  friends.  One  such  hogan 
I  shall  never  forget  if  I  live  to  be  100  years  old. 
This  hogan  had  a  large  family  in  it,  and  it  in- 


IN       HOGAN       AND      PUEBLO        179 

eluded  an  old  lady.  Now  you  never  know  what 
an  old  Navaho  lady  is  going  to  do.  She  is  an  un 
known  quantity,  to  use  an  algebraic  term.  Well, 
this  time  she  was  so  glad  to  see  me,  the  poor  old 
soul  just  took  me  in  her  thin,  wrinkled  arms  and 
—and — what  do  you  think  she  did?  She  un- 
blushingly  planted  a  kiss  upon  my  cheek.  Al 
though  she  didn't  kiss  me  like  my  wife  does, 
still  I  thanked  her  for  it,  because  she  was  so 
happy  to  see  me.  That  night  grandmother  enter 
tained  me  and  gave  me  a  nice  mattress  to  sleep 
on.  I  thought  I  was  getting  to  be  somebody.  All 
that  night  I  couldn't  sleep  because  my  friends, 
the  lice,  were  feasting  off  me.  The  morning 
came,  oh  so  slow,  and  when  I  looked  for  my 
friends,  they  were  all  scampering  for  a  hiding- 
place  under  the  edges  of  the  mattress.  Then  I 
vowed  no  more  mattresses  for  me  on  a*  camp- 
trip  among  the  Navahoes! 

Grandmother  thought  I  would  get  lonesome,  I 
suppose,  if  she  didn't  do  the  cooking  for  me.  So 
she  started  in  to  get  breakfast  ready.  Once  in  a 
while  she  stopped,  took  an  insect  off  her  head 
and  put  it  in  her  mouth.  I  heard  a  cracking 
sound,  but  thought  no  more  about  it,  but  when 
she  repeated  the  performance  time  and  time 
again,  I  questioned  my  interpreter  and  he  told 
me  she  would  spit  them  out  as  soon  as  her 
mouth  was  full.  This  she  did  to  my  great  relief. 
It  was  none  too  soon  for  me,  I  can  tell  you.  While 
grandmother  was  doing  this,  another  occupant, 


180          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

a  young  mother,  was  busy  giving  the  baby  a  bath 
in  the  frying-pan.  As  I  knew  grandmother  was 
going  to  use  that  pan,  my  stomach  or  something 
in  that  neighborhood  began  to  give  a  gurgling 
sound,  you  know  the  kind  I  mean,  and  I  thought, 
all's  off  with  me.  I  closed  my  eyes  for  a  moment 
or  two,  maybe  five,  I  don't  know.  I  do  know  it 
was  quite  a  while  before  I  opened  them,  but 
when  I  did,  old  grandmother  was  busy  killing 
lice  on  the  butcher  knife  with  her  thumb,  and 
then  using  the  knife  to  cut  some  mutton.  How 
quick  I  closed  my  eyes  I  can't  tell  you,  but  they 
stayed  closed  for  a  long,  long  time.  While  they 
were  closed  I  prayed  to  the  Lord,  reverently,  you 
understand,  for  grace  to  meet  this  situation.  Sud 
denly  I  heard  the  cry  of  "Let  us  eat."  I  asked  a 
blessing  and  slowly  ate  with  the  rest.  I  was 
hungry  enough  to  eat  fast  but — you  know  how 
it  is. 

Camping  with  the  Navahoes  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  them  the  Gospel  is  no  sinecure,  to 
say  the  least.  If  you  refuse  to  eat  with  them, 
you  can't  win  them.  Only  recently  I  ate  with 
the  Navahoes,  and  when  all  thru  they  said,  "Now 
we  know  you  are  the  missionary  who  loves  us. 
Other  white  people  say  we  are  dirty  and  they 
won't  eat  our  food,  but  here  you  come,  tell  us 
about  God  and  eat  our  food.  We  are  happy  to 
see  you  do  it."  Of  course,  I  never  tell  them  of 
the  special  grace  God  gives  me  to  do  it,  but,  as 
the  Apostle  Paul  was  all  to  all  men,  so  we  are  to 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         181 

these  poor  heathen  Navaho.  1  do  this  in  order 
to  win  them  to  Christ.  Frequently  my  wife  gives 
me  enough  sandwiches  for  a  day  trip,  but  a 
camp-missionary  can't  do  anything  amounting 
to  much  in  one  day.  He  just  gets  started  when 
it  is  time  for  him  to  get  back.  Many  an  amusing 
incident  has  followed  the  giving  of  these  sand 
wiches  to  the  Indians.  They  are  afraid  of  eggs, 
saying  they  will  get  a  large  family  if  they  eat 
them.  Salmon  they  refuse  because  those  who 
eat  it  will  get  sores  in  the  stomach.  Now  it  hap 
pens  these  are  my  favorite  dishes,  especially  as 
sandwiches.  They  like  to  eat  white  man's  food, 
so  thru  courtesy  I  offer  them  a  sandwich  of 
either  eggs  or  salmon.  The  moment  they  find 
out  what  it  is  they  drop  it  like  a  hot  brick. 
Sometimes  they  don't  ask,  so  I  don't  tell  them, 
then  a  month  or  so  later  I  tell  them  about  it  and 
point  out  the  fact  that  nothing  happened  to 
them.  In  this  way,  perhaps,  we  can  get  them  to 
see  things  diffeerntly.  It  is  hard  to  do  this,  but 
this  is  my  aim  along  with  the  preaching.  You 
know  when  a  person  dies  in  a  hogan,  the  Nav- 
ahoes  always  leave  that  hogan.  Some  go  so  far 
as  to  burn  the  hogan.  They  used  to  come  to  me 
to  ask  me  for  help  in  burying  their  dead.  This 
I  was  always  glad  to  do  if  they  would  help  me 
dig  the  grave.  Very  often  they  refused  to  do 
this;  then  I  left  them  to  their  own  devices.  If 
they  helped  then  I  would  go  along  to  supervise 
the  job.  When  the  burning  of  the  hogan  was 


182          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

next  on  the  program,  I  would  ask  for  it,  as  it  is 
made  from  the  best  and  stoutest  posts.  Gener 
ally  they  granted  my  request.  Then  for  a  day  or 
two  I  would  haul  in  the  old  "devil's  home."  When 
they  visited  me,  my  wife  would  offer  them  a  cup 
of  coffee  and  then  a  second  cup  was  asked  for, 
and  sometimes  a  third.  When  all  were  satis 
fied,  I  would  tell  them  the  coffee  was  made  by 
burning  the  "devil's"  wood  from  the  hogan. 
Then  what  a  howl  and  a  yell!  But  when  I  asked 
them  if  the  coffee  didn't  taste  good,  they  had  to 
confess  that  it  did.  Then  I  asked  them  why  are 
you  yelling  for  then?  The  next  time  they  come 
for  more,  as  they  dearly  love  coffee.  Thus  we 
try  to  teach  them  in  more  ways  than  one.  Only 
a  new  heart  from  God  can  affect  a  change  that 
is  lasting  and  satisfying. 

Invariably  when  camping  with  the  Navahoes 
any  length  of  time  they  asked  my  interpreter  his 
clan  name.  Once  I  remember  we  arrived  at  a 
camp  very  hungry  indeed.  Our  food  supply 
gave  out,  also  our  water,  and  here  we  were  hun 
dreds  of  miles  from  home,  fifty  miles  from  a 
store  and  in  a  neighborhood  in  which  we  were 
totally  unacquainted.  We  told  them  who  we 
were  and  where  we  came  from  and  why  we 
were  traveling  thru  the  country.  After  the  mes 
sage  was  given  we  told  them  of  our  plight,  but 
it  didn't  seem  to  awaken  any  cord  of  sympathy, 
for  they  just  listened,  but  that's  all.  Now  listen 
ing  doesn't  do  your  stomach  any  good,  espe- 


IN       HOGAN       AND      PUEBLO         183 

cially  when  said  stomach  is  sending  an  S.  O.  S. 
for  something  to  eat.  We  began  to  talk  about 
clans,  when  I  told  them  I  came  from  the  "Many 
Goats"  Clan.  This  certainly  surprised  them, 
and  they  laughingly  asked  me  how  that  was,  so 
I  related  why  I  took  this  clan  name.  "Four  years 
ago  I  bought  a  small  goat  or  kid  for  my  two 
children.  This  kid  became  a  great  pet.  It  used 
to  buck  my  wife  with  its  little  horns,  while  she 
was  hanging  clothes  on  the  line.  My  family 
took  a  month's  camp-trip  overland  in  a  prairie 
schooner.  When  we  returned  a  coyote  had  eaten 
the  pet  goat  up.  So  I  took  this  clan  name  in  re 
membrance  of  the  pet  goat."  Well,  do  you  know 
that  when  I  got  thru  they  got  right  on  the  job  to 
fix  us  something  to  eat.  One  lady  began  to  make 
"clapping  bread"  similar  to  our  pancakes,  and 
called  "clapping  bread"  because  of  the  move 
ments  of  the  hands  in  turning  the  dough  over 
and  over  again;  another  began  to  sharpen  the 
knife  preparatory  to  cutting  some  mutton;  a 
young  girl  got  water  on  for  the  coffee,  and  before 
I  knew  it  I  heard  these  sweet  words,  "Let's  eat." 
I  can  assure  you  I  ate  all  right.  Rib  after  rib 
vanished,  the  fat  running  down  my  chin,  fingers 
wet  with  grease,  and  how  good  it  tasted  could 
be  seen  by  what  was  left.  We  left  bones  only. 
Ordinarily  I  don't  eat  much  fat,  but  at  times 
like  this  I  forget  that  I  don't  eat  fatty  meat.  Now 
why  this  sudden  change  in  their  manner?  Why 
all  this  hustle  and  bustle?  One  would  think  we 


184          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

were  really  persons  of  high  distinction.  The 
cause  of  all  this  lay  in  the  mere  fact  that  I  be 
longed  to  the  same  clan  as  these  people  did, 
namely  the  "Many  Goats"  Clan.  So  you  can  see 
small  things,  as  clan  names,  come  in  very  handy 
sometimes. 

By  camping  with  them  the  missionary  gets 
inside  information  of  their  home  life.  As  we  all 
know,  if  you  want  to  know  a  person  well,  just 
live  with  him  a  while.  Then  yoa  will  get  an 
intimate  glimpse  of  his  private  and  home  life, 
like  you  never  could  get  in  any  other  way.  So 
with  the  Navahoes.  By  eating  and  sleeping  with 
them,  you  get  some  of  the  idiomatic  expressions. 
You  can  learn  many  things  if  you  keep  your  ears 
wide  open.  Then  you  can  learn  their  language 
and  give  it  the  right  flavor  in  pronunciation,  for 
the  Navaho  language  has  a  flavor  all  its  own. 
Every  time  I  camp  with  them  I  practice  my  Nav 
aho  and  how  they  roar  with  the  way  I  come  out 
with  some  words.  When  they  correct  me  I  know 
I  got  it  right  then,  and  so  we  use  it  correctly  the 
next  time.  But  the  language  is  so  difficult  to 
learn.  Progress  is  very  slow  indeed.  Here  a 
little,  there  a  little;  here  a  line,  there  a  line; 
an  expression  here,  and  a  sentence  there.  And 
so  the  language  study  goes  on.  But  I  can  see 
progress  has  been  made,  even  though  it  has  been 
slow.  "Alle  goede  dingen  komen  langzaam." 

In  their  idiomatic  expressions  lies  food  for 
thought.  Many  times  they  can  say  a  whole  lot 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        185 

with  a  few  words.  Another  time  they  use  many 
words  to  express  what  to  us  is  a  simple  thought. 
Some  of  the  female  Navahoes  have  a  very  sharp 
tongue,  so  these  pithy  expressions  come  in 
handy.  Once  I  was  sleeping  with  them.  The 
kin  was  crowded.  There  must  have  been  about 
nine  or  ten  persons  in  this  kin  of  about  16  x  18, 
besides  ourselves,  four  dogs  and  two  cats  and  a 
lamb.  You  can  imagine  what  a  delightful  odor 
came  to  meet  us  when  we  entered  right  from  the 
fresh,  though  cold  air.  In  a  few  moments  we 
got  accustomed  to  it  and  slept  in  that  atmosphere 
that  night.  The  children  began  to  cry.  They 
were  told  to  "hush,"  which  they  all  did  except  a 
small  girl  of  about  eight  years  old.  She  kept 
up  crying  until  her  mother  said  to  her  in  a  sharp 
tone,  like  only  some  Navaho  mothers  can  use, 
"What  are  you  crying  for?  Did  your  husband 
die?"  It  is  needless  to  say  the  crying  stopped.  I 
surely  felt  sorry  for  the  poor  tot,  although  I 
needed  my  night's  rest. 

In  camping  with  Navahoes,  one  quickly  learns 
their  religious  beliefs,  what  stories  they  are  al 
lowed  to  tell  only  during  the  winter  time,  what 
games  they  are  permitted  to  play  only  in  the 
winter  time,  which  perhaps  might  prove  to  be 
of  interest  to  my  readers,  but  time  and  space 
prevents.  Let  it  suffice  when  I  say  the  Navahoes 
haven't  very  many  games.  They  have  one 
game  from  the  remote  past,  which  only  men  par 
ticipate  in,  while  another  game  for  women  is  of 


186          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

recent  origin.  Their  stories  for  winter  relation 
are  many  and  interesting,  but  it  must  be  passed 
over  at  this  time. 

What  a  grand  opportunity  we  have  while 
camping  with  them  to  reflect  the  image  of  our 
Master.  Our  actions  are  constantly  under  their 
surveillance,  and  all  our  deeds  and  words  are 
frequently  brought  before  the  bar  of  judgment. 
These  words  and  deeds  either  accuse  or  excuse 
us  in  their  eyes.  Hence,  how  careful  one  must 
be  so  no  erroneous  idea  might  be  received  of 
our  blessed  Lord.  The  Gospel  has  not  lost  its 
power  in  drawing  men  and  women  to  the  Cross 
of  Christ.  For  after  all  is  said  and  done,  this  is 
our  main  purpose  in  camping  with  the  Navahoes, 
to  be  an  instrument  in  God's  hand  to  bring  them 
to  a  saving  knowledge  of  Him,  Whom  to  know 
is  life  eternal.  One  of  the  saddest  and  most  pa 
thetic  incidents  of  all  my  experiences  as  a  camp- 
missionary  came  to  me  a  few  weeks  ago.  We 
had  visited  a  camp,  had  given  the  message  with 
gladness  and  singleness  of  heart.  We  were 
about  to  leave,  when  I  saw  an  old  lady  hid  be 
yond  a  bush,  sitting  on  a  sheepskin.  I  went  up 
to  her  and  shook  her  hand  and  gave  her  the 
usual  Navaho  greeting  of:  "Is  it  well?"  I  told 
her  who  I  was,  whereupon  she  told  me :  "I  am 
110  years  old.  I  know  I  am,  because  I  was  53 
years  when  I  went  into  captivity.  Now  I  am 
blind,  I  am  all  alone,  no  one  cares  for  me.  My 
little  one,  my  little  one,  what  shall  I  do?  You 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         187 

have  told  me  about  God's  home  where  I  can  go 
to  if  I  walk  on  God's  road.  In  God's  home  my 
blindness  will  be  gone.  Oh,  how  happy  I  would 
be  if  I  really  could  go  there.  Here  they  leave 
me  alone.  They  just  bring  me  a  little  food,  not 
much.  No  one  cares  for  me."  If  you  could 
have  heard  that  pitiful  wail,  it  would  almost 
hreak  your  heart  like  it  did  mine.  Lovingly  we 
told  her  God  is  willing,  aye  anxious,  to  receive 
her  if  she  but  come  with  a  confession  of  her  sins. 
But  we  couldn't  convince  her  that  God  loved  her 
and  Jesus  cared  for  her,  because  it  seemed  ut 
terly  foreign  to  her  mind. 

Ah,  dear  readers,  there  are  many  Navahoes  to 
whom  the  Gospel  is  strange.  It  is  our  supreme 
duty  to  make  it  so  simple  that  a  child  can  grasp 
it.  This  is  our  loving  duty  to  the  Master.  It 
was  He  Who  sent  us  here.  It  is  He  Who  sus 
tains  us.  We  repeatedly  remind  ourselves  that 
God  can  and  will  do  great  things  for  us  if  our 
faith  is  only  large  enough.  God  can't  (humanly 
speaking)  give  a  heart  a  quart  of  blessings,  when 
it  only  has  a  pint  capacity.  We  constantly  re 
mind  ourselves  that  while  failure  to  bring  the 
Gospel  to  the  Navahoes  is  a  great  crime,  a  low 
aim  not  to  expect  great  things  from  God  is  also 
a  sin.  Therefore,  let  us  go  from  strength  to 
strength,  having  faith  in  a  great  God,  Who  will  in 
His  own  good  time  gather  some  of  these  Nav 
ahoes  to  complete  the  body  of  Christ. 

Loving  Father,  hasten  that  day ! 


188          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

IX. 
TOHATCHI,  NEW  MEXICO 

TOHATCHI,  "Little  Water,"  is  the  second 
place  that  was  occupied  by  the  Christian 
Reformed  Church  in  its  work  among  the  Nav- 
ahoes.  After  having  served  as  assistant  to  the 
Rev.  H.  Fryling  at  Fort  Defiance  for  some  time, 
Mr.  James  De  Groot  was  sent  to  Tohatchi,  a 
branch  station  of  the  Fort  Defiance  Agency. 
Having,  as  it  were,  just  begun  the  work,  he  was 
succeeded  in  the  year  1900  by  the  Rev.  L.  P. 
Brink.  The  experiences  and  labors  of  this 
brother  are  spoken  of  in  a  preceding  Chapter, 
"A  Pioneer  Missionary  to  the  Navahoes." 

With  the  departure  of  Rev.  Brink  from  To 
hatchi,  this  district,  one  of  the  best  on  our  al 
lotted  territory,  has  experienced  a  continual 
change  of  laborers,  and  this  has  not  proven  to 
be  beneficial,  but  rather  detrimental.  Rev.  D.  H. 
Muyskens  was  the  first  to  continue  the  work 
here  after  Brother  Brink  went  to  California,  but 
it  was  only  temporary,  for  the  Rev.  Muyskens, 
Missionary  of  the  Paterson,  N.  J.,  churches,  was 
called  to  take  up  the  work  at  Crown  Point.  He 
was  simply  abiding  at  Tohatchi  until  things 
could  take  shape  at  Crown  Point.  WThen  he 
finally  left,  Tohatchi  station  was  vacant  until 
the  Rev.  Lee  S.  Huizenga,  M.  D.,  took  up  his 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        189 

abode  there.  This  brother,  we  all  know,  was 
not  where  he  wanted  to  be  when  he  was  at  To- 
hatchi  in  the  Indian  work,  for  his  heart  was  set 
upon  and,  according  to  his  own  testimony,  his 
life  was  consecrated  to  the  cause  of  Christ  in  a 
foreign  land.  He  was  serving  in  the  Indian  field 
only  until  such  a  time  when  the  Church  would 
be  ready  to  send  him  out  into  foreign  work.  By 
way  of  an  interpolation,  we  can  say,  that  that 
day  dawned  in  the  fall  of  1920,  when  on  the 
30th  of  October,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Huizenga,  with 
their  three  children,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  C.  De 
Korne  with  two  children,  and  Rev.  and  Mrs. 
H.  A.  Dykstra,  set  sail  from  San  Francisco,  Cal.* 
as  the  first  representatives  of  the  Christian  Re 
formed  Church  to  bring  the  Gospel  to  the 
Chinese.  May  the  Lord  be  with  them  and  bless 
them  in  selecting  the  field  for  the  Foreign  Mis 
sion  work  of  our  Church. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  L.  S.  Huizenga  during  his  first 
stay  at  Tohatchi,  asked  for  and  received  as  an 
assitant  Mr.  Mark  Bouma,  a  brother  more  or  less 
acquainted  with  the  work  among  the  Navahoes, 
having  served  a  term  as  General  Manager  at 
Rehoboth.  After  Dr.  Huizenga's  permanent  de 
parture  from  the  Indian  field,  Mr.  Bouma  was 
placed  in  full  charge  of  the  work  at  Tohatchi  by 
the  churches  of  Holland,  Michigan,  who  have 
made  the  support  of  this  station  -their  particular 
and  peculiar  care. 

During  the  periods  of  vacancy  which  Tohatchi 


190          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

experienced,  the  Roman  Catholics  entered  the 
field  and  established  their  work  there.  This,  as 
becomes  evident  from  the  following  description 
of  the  work  written  by  Mr.  Bouma,  has  caused  a 
division  among  the  children,  for  now  some  are 
being  taught  by  the  Catholic  Priest  and  others  by 
the  Protestant  Missionary.  Whoever  succeeds  in 
getting  the  thumb-print  of  the  parents,  obtains 
therewith  the  privilege  of  giving  religious  in 
struction  to  the  child.  When  we  recall  the  ex 
periences  and  the  outcome  of  our  struggle  with 
this  same  party  at  Fort  Defiance,  we  are  loathe 
to  think  of  what  may  happen  in  the  future  at 
Tohatchi.  One  thing  we  are  sure  of,  and  that  is 
that  this  station  nor  any  other  should  be  left 
without  a  resident  worker  for  any  length  of  time. 
One  of  our  strongest  men  should  be  called  and 
located  at  such  a  station,  and  undoubtedly  he 
should  be  supplied  with  the  best  of  interpreters 
as  well  as  with  an  assistant  to  look  after  the 
faraway  camps  which  he  \vould  not  be  able  to 
reach  regularly  without  neglecting  his  work  at 
the  school.  Thus  working  in  the  closest  har 
mony,  the  Missionary  and  his  assistant  may  be 
able  to  hold  the  ground.  This  matter  should  as 
suredly  teach  us  a  lesson  for  the  future.  Never 
again  allow  a  station  to  remain  vacant  and  un 
manned.  It  is  possible  to  prevent  this  if  the 
spirit  of  self-denial  is  practised,  and  the  welfare 
of  the  whole  is  considered  rather  than  the  wel 
fare  of  a  certain  part. 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         191 

Brother  Bouma  has  a  difficult  field  to  labor  in, 
and  we  should  remember  him  in  our  prayers 
and  back  him  up  with  our  encouragement.  If 
he,  who  is  undoubtedly  more  or  less  acquainted 
with  the  whole  Tohatchi  district  would  consent 
to  assume  the  camp-work  and  the  Classis  of  Hol 
land  \vould  send  an  ordained  Missionary  to  care 
for  the  school  work  and  the  nearby  camps,  this 
would  be,  in  our  estimation,  the  best  solution 
of  the  problem,  and  the  very  best  arrangement 
that  could  be  made  for  the  place. 

At  Tohatchi  much  time  has  been  spent,  great 
efforts  have  been  put  forth,  many  dollars  have 
been  invested,  the  confidence  of  the  people  in 
the  district  has  been  won,  blessed  fruit  upon  the 
work  has  been  gathered  in,  and  therefore  by  all 
means  everything  possible  should  be  done  to 
conserve  what  has  been  gained.  I  am  sure  you 
will  be  interested  to  read  the  following  experi 
ences  of  the  Tohatchi  Missionary  as  he  follows 
the  trail  of  the  Navaho  over  the  mountains, 
thru  the  valleys,  across  the  plains,  and  into  the 
rocks. 


192          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  NAVAHO  IN  AND 
AROUND  TOHATCHI 


MR.   MARK   BOUMA,   Missionay-in-Charge   at   Tohatchi. 

HTHE  COMMAND,  "Go  ye teach   all  na- 

•*•    tions "  includes  the   adult  Navahoes, 

and  in  order  to  reach  them,  we  surely  must  "hit 
the  trail."  Although  most  of  them  do  enjoy 
hearing  "stories,"  very  few  will  go  out  of  their 
way  to  hear  the  Gospel.  It  must  be  brought  to 
them  in  their  homes.  The  ideal  would  be  to 
have  systematic  camp-work  done  from  out  of 
every  mission  post.  That  would  mean  a  camp- 
worker  for  each  post,  who  does  nothing  but 
visiting  camps.  Our  Tohatchi  man  would  have 
to  cover  an  area  of  about  one  thousand  square 
miles,  which  would  keep  him  busy,  and  aft'ord 
the  Indians  a  visit  none  too  often. 

As  we  are  situated  now,  one  man  being  re 
sponsible  for  that  entire  field,  and  also  for  the 
school-  and  home  work,  which  alone  can  keep 
one  busy,  it  is  easily  understood  that  some  part 
of  the  work  must  be  neglected.  Because  the 
class-work  with  the  school  children  is  set  at 
fixed  hours,  and  it  seems  a  shame  to  go  away 
when  work  at  home  (such  as  personal  work  with 
school  children,  Indians  calling  at  the  Mission, 
etc.),  must  be  neglected,  our  camps  are  visited 
very  irregularly  and  at  great  intervals. 

These  periodic  visits  at  the  camps  are  often 
caused  by  some  special  emergency,  a  few  of 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         193 

which  I'll  quote  to  give  you  somewhat  an  idea 
of  our  work. 

About  two  miles  from  our  Mission  is  the  camp 
of  "Many-Goats-Nephew."  One  morning  early 
the  entire  family  was  at  breakfast  outside  of 
the  hogan  with  the  exception  of  a  five-year-old 
laddie,  who  was  still  asleep  inside.  All  at  once 
a  crash  was  heard,  and  then  they  saw  that  the 
roof  of  the  hogan  had  caved  in.  It  had  rained 
some  during  the  night,  which  propably  caused 
the  catastrophe.  Rushing  to  the  place  of  disas 
ter,  they  found  the  boy  buried  beneath  the 
beams  and  dirt.  It  took  them  only  a  very  short 
time  to  rescue  him,  but  imagine  their  grief 
when  they  saw  their  child  badly  bruised  about 
the  head.  Word  was  at  once  sent  to  the  govern 
ment  doctor,  who  walked  over,  as  there  was  no 
vehicle  at  hand.  A  hasty  examination  revealed 
that  the  lad  was  scalped,  and  would  probably 
die.  The  doctor  did  what  he  could  under  the 
circumstances  and  went  home. 

Because  the  government  car  was  not  in  run 
ning  order,  I  was  asked  to  take  the  doctor  to 
that  camp  after  breakfast.  When  we  arrived 
there,  the  child  had  already  died.  Upon  a  closer 
investigation  we  found  a  fracture  of  the  skull 
and  a  piece  of  wood  stuck  into  the  brain.  Never 
before  had  I  seen  a  skull  so  completely  scalped. 

There  we  stood,  unable  to  do  a  thing  for  these 
heart-broken  parents  and  grandmother.  The 
doctor  talked  about  it  in  a  matter-of-fact  way, 


194          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

and  wanted  to  go  right  back.  It  was  plain  to 
be  seen  that  the  man  had  never  lost  a  child  of 
his  own,  nor  felt  any  concern  for  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  these  people. 

While  the  grandmother  prepared  the  child  for 
burial  (for  it  was  decided  that  I  take  it  away 
and  bury  it)  I  stood  by,  thinking.  My  thoughts 
surely  "multiplied  within  me."  About  two  hours 
before  this  child  was  asleep,  no  one  suspecting 
any  danger.  Now  in  eternity,  without  having 
given  the  parents  one  word  or  look  of  recogni 
tion.  I  thanked  the  Lord  for  the  sickbed  of  our 
boy,  brief  as  it  was.  I  thought  of  Psalm  94:  19, 
but  realized  that  it  does  not  apply  to  these 
stricken  relatives,  because  they  know  of  no 
"comforts"  as  the  Psalmist  mentions,  and  as  so 
many  of  God's  people  experience,  even  in  times 
of  greatest  distress. 

While  the  child  was  being  washed  and  clad  in 
new  clothes,  which  the  father  had  hurriedly  pur 
chased  in  the  nearby  Indian  trading  store,  an 
other  member  of  the  family  was  carrying  all 
the  household  articles  away,  as  they  would  not 
dare  to  do  that  after  the  corpse  was  ready  for 
burial.  The  child  died  just  outside  the  hogan  in 
which  it  had  received  its  death-blow,  which  fact 
compels  them  to  move  away  and  never  come 
near  the  place  again.  Superstition  predominates 
with  respect  to  anything  and  everything  you  can 
name.  They  will  remain  in  the  vicinity  four 
days,  which  must  be  spent  in  "mourning,"  and 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        195 

then  they  move  away  and  resume  their  usual 
activities. 

Although  burials  bring  us  much  "on  the  trail" 
of  the  Navaho,  they  are  very  unsatisfactory  as 
far  as  real  gospel  work  is  concerned.  Before  the 
burial,  the  folks  are  usually  not  in  the  mood  to 
listen  to  the  Gospel,  because  it  is  always  in  their 
first  grief  that  we  find  them.  Their  dead  must 
be  buried  at  once.  Then  they  do  not  want  to 
meet  us  for  four  days  because  those  that  bury  a 
corpse  are  "unclean"  for  that  length  of  time.  If 
wre  visit  them  after  those  days  have  expired,  it  is 
not  wise  to  refer  to  either  the  deceased  or  the 
burial  in  any  way,  as  the  most  of  them  would 
greatly  object.  Burying  their  dead  may  win  their 
good-will,  (and  so  much  has  to  be  done  to  win 
that),  but  it  brings  them  very  little  direct 
Gospel. 


The  Government  requests  that  the  mission 
aries  get  the  consent  of  the  parents  before  they 
may  give  religious  instruction  to  the  pupils  of 
the  Government  schools.  This  rule  is  especially 
enforced  at  the  schools  where  both  Catholics 
and  Protestants  have  their  missionaries.  Be 
cause  of  the  illiteracy  of  the  Navahoes,  we  have 
printed  forms  on  which  the  parent  impresses 
his  or  her  thumb-print. 

Where  there  is  only  one  missionary,  this 
ruling  does  not  involve  much  extra  work  nor 
embarrassment,  because  a  child  is  compelled  to 


196          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

attend  religious  instruction,  and  with  very  little 
persuasion  the  thumb-prints  are  obtained.  The 
missionary  can  patiently  await  the  coming  of 
the  parents,  knowing  he  is  sure  of  the  child. 
But  where  both  Catholics  and  Protestants  are 
working,  as  at  Tohatchi,  this  matter  is  more 
serious.  If  parents  bring  in  their  children  here, 
there  are  two  missionaries  awaiting  them,  who 
nominally  are  doing  the  same  work.  Unless  the 
minds  of  these  parents  are  biased  thru  certain 
circumstances,  the  missionary  who  first  asks 
them  gets  the  signature,  especially  if  the  other 
man  is  not  in  sight.  If  perchance  both  are  on 
the  scene,  it  is  embarrassing  to  the  missionaries 
and  to  the  parents  alike.  No  missionary  likes 
to  use  persuasive  means  in  the  presence  of  his 
opponent,  and  Mr.  Navaho  is  very  much  set  on 
"keeping  on  the  right  side"  of  both  missionaries 
for  possible  material  aid. 

One  day  a  man  assigned  his  boy  to  me,  but 

seeing  Fr.  M -,  whose  friendship  he  also 

wanted  to  hold,  he  said  that  he  had  more  chil 
dren  at  home,  and  when  he  brought  the  next  one 
in  he  would  give  the  signature  to  the  Father. 
This,  of  course,  had  to  serve  as  a  pacifier! 

This  "signature  business"  certainly  puts  us 
on  the  trail.  As  soon  as  we  have  any  intima 
tion  of  a  family  thinking  of  sending  a  child  to 
school,  we  "hit  the  trail"  and  look  them  up,  no 
matter  how  far  they  live  away  from  us.  If  they 
tell  us  that  it  is  their  intention  to  send  a  child, 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         197 

we  ask  them  for  their  signature,  explaining  that 
there  are  two  missionaries  there,  that  only  one 
of  these  two  can  have  the  child,  that  we  are  the 
"short-coat"  missionaries,  and well,  what 
ever  we  think  we  ought  to  tell  them.  Sometimes 
we  have  no  trouble  at  all  and  soon  have  their 
thumb-print. 

But  that  the  thumb-print  does  not  positively 
assure  us  of  the  child,  the  following  incident  re 
veals.  We  asked  D.  M—  -  for  his  signature  for 
the  little  boy  he  promised  to  bring  to  school. 
He  readily  gave  it  because  we  also  have  his 
little  girl  who  is  at  school  here.  But.  . .  .when 
D.  M—  -  brought  the  boy,  he  first  came  to  my 
room,  requesting  the  paper  he  had  signed,  be 
cause  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
better  policy  to  give  one  child  to  each  mission 
ary,  as  he  might  need  the  help  of  both.  I  did  not 
return  him  the  paper,  but  told  him  he  was  at 
liberty  to  give  his  boy  whom  he  would,  although 
I  tried  to  dissuade  him  from  giving  him  to  the 
Catholics.  Saying  that  the  child's  mother  wished 
her  son  to  be  put  on  the  other  side,  he  left  me. 
I  knew  this  was  not  so,  but  had  to  let  him  go. 

He  went  to  Fr.  M ,  who  was  greatly  surprised, 

well  knowing  that  his  girl  was  on  our  side.  But, 
of  course,  he  was  glad  to  get  the  child  and  ac 
cepted  the  signature.  D.  M had  no  more  than 

given  his  thumb-print,  when  he  asked  the  Father 
if  he  did  not  have  some  lumber  for  him  to  make 
a  door  for  his  hogan.  (The  Father  had  just  fin- 


198          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

ished  building  the  church,  and  had  some  lumber 
left.) 

If,  when  we  go  out  after  signatures  we  meet  a 
family  that  is  prejudiced  against  us,  it  is  often 
interesting  and  amusing  to  notice  their  dodging. 
Not  often  will  they  say  right  out  that  they  want 
their  child  on  the  other  side,  but  will  give  all 
kinds  of  evading  answers. 

It  is  not  principle  that  decides  for  them,  be 
cause  they  understand  neither  Catholicism  nor 
Protestantism.  Their  motives  vary,  but  are 
mostly  politic.  One  reason  why  there  is  a  marked 
decrease  on  our  side  and  an  increase  on  the 
side  of  Rome,  is  that  Rome  influences  the  head 
men  of  the  Navahoes,  who  in  turn  use  their 
authoritative  power  among  their  subjects.  Be 
cause  these  head  men  are  invariably  medicine 
men,  they  have  a  marked  influence  over  the 
people. 

It  is  not  a  wise  policy  to  solicit  signatures  for 
children  while  out  camp-preaching,  because 
most  of  the  parents  must  almost  be  compelled 
to  send  their  children  to  school,  and  if  the  mis 
sionary  keeps  asking  for  children,  he  will  be  less 
welcome  at  the  camp.  If  it  is  during  the  time 
that  new  children  are  expected  at  the  school, 
and  especially  if  it  is  noised  abroad  that  a  cer 
tain  family  intends  to  send  a  child,  it  is  allright 
to  ask  for  the  signature. 

While  soliciting  these  signatures,  we  have 
great  opportunities  to  bring  them  the  Gospel. 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         199 

They  invariably  ask  what  the  difference  is  be 
tween  our  religion  and  that  of  the  "long-coats,'* 
but  instead  of  answering  that  question  directly, 
we  give  them  as  much  Gospel  as  possible,  telling 
them  that  our  commission  is  to  bring  the  Gos 
pel  and  not  to  run  down  Rome.  Sometimes  we 
cannot  well  get  out  of  telling  them  something 
about  the  difference,  and  then  we  touch  upon 
the  radical  points.  They  do  not  understand 
enough  about  either  Church  to  appreciate  this 
explanation. 


Sam  lives  about  fifteen  miles  away  from  here, 
on  a  mountain  which  is  difficult  to  climb  with  a 
car.  Sam  met  me  one  day  and  asked  if  I  would 
hot  come  to  his  camp.  His  wife  had  an  ulcera- 
tion  of  the  breast;  had  been  down  for  some 
time;  could  not  nurse  the  baby;  often  fainted, 
etc.  He  realized  she  should  have  hospital  treat 
ment  (Sam  is  an  ex-pupil  of  the  Government 
school),  and  wanted  me  to  help  him  persuade 
his  wife  to  go  to  Rehoboth. 

So  George  and  I  started  out,  praying  that  the 
way  might  be  opened  for  some  effective  work. 
It  surely  was  a  task  to  get  there.  Because  of  un 
usual  drought,  they  had  moved  to  a  place  where 
otherwise  nobody  ever  lived,  and  where  I'm 
sure  never  a  car  had  been  before.  Had  I 
known  what  we  would  encounter,  I  would  not 
have  ventured  into  the  pinons,  but  once  in  there 
we  had  to  proceed.  The  water  in  our  Ford  boiled 


200          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

so  much  that  it  burned  the  radiator  hose,  and  we 
consequently  had  a  difficult  time  getting  back 
home. 

We  found  the  camp  and  Mrs.  Sam.  She  was 
emaciated,  and  it  was  easily  to  be  seen  that  she 
had  suffered  a  great  deal,  and  was  still  in  pain. 
Two  ulcers  had  broken  and  the  wounds  had  not 
been  taken  care  of,  so  you  can  imagine  the  filth 
and  stench.  Another  ulcer  was  forming,  causing 
a  great  deal  of  pain.  It  seemed  to  me  this  one 
was  in  the  right  condition  to  be  lanced,  but  that 
was  beyond  my  skill  and  daring.  The  woman's 
temperature  and  pulse  was  running  very  high. 
Fever,  pain,  and  loss  of  sleep  were  draining  her 
system. 

She  was  anxious  to  have  me  do  something  for 
her,  and  watched  every  move  I  made,  expecting 
me  to  give  her  medicine.  But  she  would  not 
hear  of  going  to  the  Hospital.  All  kinds  of  ex 
cuses  she  had  to  offer,  none  of  which  were  very 
weighty.  She  had  been  in  the  Hospital  before, 
knew  she  would  be  well  taken  care  of,  even 
realized  that  if  she  did  not  go  she  would  have 
to  suffer  a  great  deal  more,  but  positively  re 
fused  to  go. 

Although  her  husband  made  a  few  feeble  ef 
forts  toward  getting  her  consent,  he  did  not  seem 
half  as  anxious  as  when  he  spoke  to  me  the  day 

before.  And he  spoke  differently  to  me 

than  he  did  to  his  wife.  She  could  not  under 
stand  what  he  said  to  me,  and  he  supposed  1 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO        201 

could  not  follow  him  when  he  spoke  Navaho.  I 
did,  however,  understand  some,  and  interro 
gated  my  interpreter  afterwards.  Then  I  learned 
that  the  case  was  thus. 

Sam  is  a  very  immoral  man,  and  his  wife 
knows  it,  and  he  knows  that  she  knows  it.  She 
dared  not  leave  the  camp,  knowing  what  it 
would  lead  her  husband  to,  and  she  shielded 
him  before  me,  in  not  giving  the  reason  why  she 
would  not  let  me  take  her  away.  He  wanted 
her  to  go  for  more  than  one  reason,  but  he  did 
not  dare  to  say  too  much  for  fear  she  would  be 
gin  to  unburden  her  mind  to  me. 

The  issue  of  this  affair  was  that  the  woman 
remained  at  home  and  suffered  much  more  than 
she  would  have  had  she  gone  to  the  Hospital. 
What  little  medicine  I  left  could  do  her  very 
little,  if  any,  good.  We  offered  them  the  Balm 
of  Gilead,  and  pointed  out  to  them  the  Great 
Physician,  Who  can  cleanse  even  "moral  lepers." 


One  of  the  school  girls  had  been  very  sick. 
While  convalescing  I  obtained  permission  to 
take  her  home  for  a  brief  visit.  Her  parents 
were  very  glad  to  see  her  so  well  again,  which 
they  had  hardly  dared  to  hope  some  weeks 
previous. 

While  the  girl  was  visiting  her  mother  and 
sisters  in  the  hogan,  George  and  I  had  a  very  in 
teresting  talk  with  the  father.  Although  he  does 
not  understand  much  of  the  Christian  religion, 


202          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

he  knows  it  must  be  good,  because  one  of  his 
sons,  who  is  off  at  school  and  is  a  Christian,  is 
one  of  his  best  boys.  If  religion  can  produce 
such  fruits,  it  must  be  a  power  for  good.  I 
greatly  rejoiced  hearing  this  testimony,  the 
more  so,  because  that  son  is  one  of  our  Tohatchi 
converts,  a  young  man  who  really  promises  well. 
If  all  our  converts  would  be  "unto  God  a  sweet 
savour  of  Christ,"  what  an  untold  influence  for 
good  they  would  exert. 

After  we  explained  the  law  of  God  to  this 
father,  as  a  rule  for  our  lives,  he  did  not  wonder 
about  the  earnest  endeavor  of  his  son  to  live  ac 
cording  to  that  law,  although  he  did  not  see  why 
eternal  life  could  not  be  obtained  thru  good 
works,  such  as  living  according  to  this  law. 

While  reconnoitering  about  the  camp,  I  dis 
covered  a  miniature  brush  shelter.  Suspecting 
that  this  was  the  abode  of  the  old  grandmother 
whom  I  knew  to  be  living  in  the  camp  and  had 
not  seen  with  the  family,  I  walked  toward  it. 
There  she  sat,  very  old,  feeble,  blind,  almost 
nude,  with  finger-  and  toe-nails  about  one-half 
inch  long,  a  tangled  mass  of  grey  hair  about  her 
head,  a  most  forlorn  and  pitiable  sight.  A  rope 
was  tied  to  one  of  the  twigs  of  the  shelter,  which 
she  would  take  hold  of  when  she  wished  to  walk 
a  bit. 

I  have  often  seen  similar  scenes,  but  cannot 
get  accustomed  to  them.  After  I  had  stood  there 
a  while,  looking  at  the  old  lady  and  thinking  of 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        203 

my  grandmother,  whom  I  adored,  I  spoke  to  her 
as  best  I  could.  Although  I  called  her  my  grand 
mother  and  she  called  me  her  grandson,  we  did 
not  understand  each  other  as  well  as  grand 
mothers  and  grand-children  usually  do;  but  she 
made  me  understand  that  she  was  hungry,  that 
her  children  neglected  her,  giving  her  barely 
enough  food  to  keep  alive,  and  giving  her  no 
clothes  at  all.  She  asked  me  for  food,  but  I  had 
none  with  me. 

This  was  no  exception  to  the  rule.  As  long 
as  the  grandparents  are  sturdy  and  able  to  man 
age,  they  rule  over  all  the  children  and  grand 
children,  and  sometimes  with  an  iron  hand. 
They  are  the  heads  of  the  camp.  But  when  they 
become  feeble,  they  are  usually  neglected,  as 
was  this  old  lady  I  mentioned.  Even  the  chil 
dren  seem  to  feel  no  concern  for  them,  because 
my  protegee,  although  not  a  professing  chris- 
tion  girl,  but  one  who  has  some  education,  and 
has  had  several  years  of  religious  instruction, 
did  not  go  to  see  her  grandmother.  It  is  doubt 
ful  whether  the  old  lady  ever  knew  that  her 
granddaughter  had  been  home. 

David,  when  persecuted  by  a  rebellious  son  in 
his  old  age,  prayed  for  divine  assistance  (Psalm 
71:  9),  but  these  people  have  not  learned  to  do 
that.  They  know  of  no  God  of  love  and  mercy. 
They  are  just  waiting  for  death  to  take  them 

to they  know  not  where.  They  are  in  the 

dark. 


204          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

When  one  makes  calls  he  may  expect  to  be 
called  upon  in  return.  We  also  experience  that 
here.  For  every  imaginable  and  sometimes  un 
imaginable  reason  the  Indians  call  upon  us.  Of 
ten  we  cannot  do  more  than  give  them  some  ad 
vice  in  the  matter,  and  even  that  is  sometimes 
very  hard.  But  it  helps  win  friendship  and  con 
fidence,  and  puts  us  in  contact  with  the  people. 
We  mostly  have  an  opportunity  to  present  them 
with  a  bit  of  Gospel. 

On  the  Tohatchi  mission  premises  we  have, 
besides  the  church-building  and  our  home,  a 
small  house  known  as  the  "kin."  It  has  two 
rooms :  one  which  I  use  for  my  study,  reception 
room  for  Indians,  etc.,  etc.  The  other  one  is 
called  the  Camp-house.  It  has  in  it  a  stove,  table, 
chairs  and  two  sewing-machines  for  Navaho 
women  to  sew  on.  Those  that  know  how  to  sew 
help  themselves,  others  are  taught  by  Mrs. 
Bouma. 

That  same  room  is  used  for  Indians  to  lodge 
in.  Sometimes  two  or  more  families  happen 
to  come  at  the  same  time,  and  then  floor  space 
is  at  a  premium. 

One  Tuesday  evening,  when  we  came  from  the 
church,  where  we  had  been  instructing  the 
school  children,  a  family  was  waiting  alongside 
the  Camp-house,  anxious  to  get  in.  Hurriedly  I 
started  a  fire  for  them  and  tried  to  make  them 
comfortable,  as  it  was  cold,  and  they  had  a  child 
wrapped  up  in  a  blanket.  We  supposed  it  was  a 


206          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

sleeping  infant,  and  paid  no  more  attention  to  it. 

Three  of  the  school  boys  went  with  me  into 
my  room,  desiring  to  talk.  After  a  while  I  asked 
one  of  them  to  step  into  the  other  room  to  see  if 
the  fire  was  allright,  because  very  few  of  the 
camp  Indians  can  keep  a  fire  going  in  a  stove, 
especially  with  coal.  After  a  few  minutes  the 
boy  came  back,  asking  if  I  had  any  medicine  for 
burns.  The  child  in  the  other  room  had  burnt 
itself.  I  took  the  people  some  medicine  (of 
which  I  keep  a  goodly  supply  on  hand),  think 
ing  I  could  do  something  to  relieve,  when  to 
my  horror  I  found  a  six-year-old  girl  very  badly 
burned,  unconscious,  and  with  the  death  pallor 
on  her  face.  Upon  inquiry  we  found  that  they 
had  come  more  than  twenty  miles  from  the 
north  of  us  and  had  stopped  at  the  school  to  see 
the  doctor.  He  had  done  for  the  child  what  he 
could,  but  saw  there  was  absolutely  no  hope  for 
recovery.  Because  it  was  cold  and  stormy  the 
parents  sought  shelter,  and  knowing  about  us 
and  having  heard  of  our  Camp-house,  they 
came  to  us. 

I  called  in  my  interpreter,  hardly  knowing 
what  to  do.  I  could  see  that  there  was  nothing 
I  could  do  for  the  child,  but  was  afraid  she 
might  die,  and  I  did  not  like  to  have  her  die  in 
that  room.  That  would  henceforth  bar  the 
room  for  the  Indians,  as  they  dare  not  enter  a 
room  where  some  one  has  died.  Not  wanting  to 
frighten  the  parents  more  than  necessary  by  ask- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         207 

Ing  them  to  come  into  our  house,  and  trying  to 
help  them  all  we  could,  I  decided  that  George 
should  lie  down  in  my  study,  so  that  they  could 
call  him  as  soon  as  they  thought  they  needed 
assistance.  George  was  then  to  call  me,  so  we 
could  help  and,  if  possible,  carry  the  child  out 
before  it  expired. 

About  midnight  George  called  me,  but  the 
child  had  already  died.  She  had  vomited  and 
died  before  the  parents  realized  it.  The  par 
ents,  of  course,  felt  the  loss  of  the  child  very 

much I  the  fact  that  my  Camp-house  was 

now  a  c'  in'  di  bi  gan  (demon's  house).  But 
knowing  that  even  this  event  came  not  by 
chance,  but  by  the  wise  Providence  of  God,  I  was 
soon  consoled. 

The  parents  said  it  \vas  customary  to  bathe 
their  dead,  and  would  like  a  vessel  with  some 
water.  I  got  them  a  pail  with  water,  and  in  the 
meantime  they  asked  George  where  they  could 
spend  the  rest  of  the  night,  because  they  would 
not  dare  to  stay  where  they  were.  He  said  they 
could  come  to  his  house,  so  they  started  to  carry 
their  belongings  over  there.  Because  they  did 
this  before  the  child  was  bathed,  it  set  me  to 
thinking,  and  I  asked  if  they  did  that  purposely. 
Yes,  I  was  told,  if  once  the  child  is  bathed  they 
will  not  dare  to  use  what  was  present,  nor  enter 
the  room  again.  Then  I  asked  if  bathing  the 
corpse  in  that  room  would  pollute  the  room 
more  than  only  dying  in  it.  They  said  it  would, 


208          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

so  I  forbade  the  bathing  there,  and  suggested  we 
go  to  the  barn.  This  was  readily  accepted.  Be 
fore  we  left  the  room,  the  father  took  a  string 
of  beads  from  his  neck,  washed  them  and  put 
them  on  the  child. 

In  the  barn  the  father  loosened  the  child's  hair 
and  combed  it  was  a  bunch  of  dry  prairie  grass. 
Then  her  clothes  were  removed,  and  while 
George  poured  the  water  on  the  body  the  father 
washed  it.  He  then  asked  us  to  dress  it,  for  he 
would  rather  not  touch  the  corpse  again.  They 
then  walked  to  George's  house,  never  to  see  the 
child  any  more,  and  probably  never  to  come  to 
our  Mission  House  again.  At  any  rate,  not 
to  enter  the  "kin."  Oh,  the  darkness  of 
heathendom ! 


Great  is  the  privilege  but  also  heavy  the  re 
sponsibility  to  the  bearer  of  light  into  this  dark 
ness,  the  Messenger  of  Good  Tidings  to  those  in 
deepest  sorrow  and  trouble !  How  little  we  can 
truly  realize  the  awful  misery  of  heathendom  in 
its  idolatry  and  superstition  unless  we  come  into 
personal  contact  with  it  and  see  it  from  day  to 
day!  Being  in  the  midst  of  it,  we  understand 
better  than  ever  before  Paul's  request,  expressed 
in  the  words,  "Brethren,  pray  for  us !" 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         209 

X. 

MEDICAL  MISSIONS 

X  TO  ONE  at  all  acquainted  with  the  conditions 
1  ^  that  prevail  in  the  non-christian  world, 
among  those  without  the  knowledge  of  the  only 
true  and  living  God,  whether  they  live  within 
the  boundaries  of  our  own  beloved  United  States 
or  on  some  foreign  shore,  will  for  one  moment 
doubt  the  great  need  of  Medical  Missions.  Only 
they,  who  read  very  superficially,  will  fail  to 
realize  that  this  is  not  a  self-imposed  task, 
but  a  distinct  command  of  the  Lord,  as 
well  as  one  of  the  credentials  of  the  Christian 
religion,  which  is  a  religion  of  mercy,  and  its 
messengers  are  sent  forth  on  errands  of  healing 
and  help  to  all  the  man  as  well  as  to  all  men. 
The  one  supreme  purpose  of  Missions,  however, 
whether  evangelistic,  educational,  industrial  or 
medical,  is  to  present  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God,  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  by  preaching  His 
Gospel,  by  teaching  the  truth,  by  promoting  thru 
every  worthy  and  effective  means  the  welfare  of 
this  present  life,  and  by  ministering  in  mercy 
healing  to  the  sick  and  indigent.  The  medical 
missionary  must  therefore  also  be  first  a  mis 
sionary  and  then  a  doctor,  and  to  the  degree  that 
this  is  verified,  will  the  cause  of  Medical  Missions 
come  to  its  own  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  the 


210          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Church  at  home  and  on  the  field.  It  may  not 
stand  first,  but  it  does  stand  second,  to  the  work 
of  evangelization.  Medical  service  is  and  must 
always  continue  to  be  a  preparer  of  the  way  for 
the  message  of  salvation.  And  every  student  of 
the  history  of  Missions  knows  that  more  than 
any  other  department  of  service  Medical  Mis 
sions  has  been  instrumental  in  disarming  fanat 
icism  with  its  consequent  prejudice  and  super 
stition.  Many  a  heart  touched  by  this  service  of 
love  and  mercy  has  been  opened  for  the  glad 
tidings  of  Him  Who  loved  us  and  gave  Himself 
for  us  and  sent  His  servants  to  minister  unto  us. 
Conscious  of  the  command,  and  realizing  the 
great  need,  and  convinced  of  the  help  it  would 
afford  in  bringing  the  Gospel  to  the  Navahoes, 
our  Church  in  the  year  1910  established  a  Hos 
pital,  for  medical  service  to  the  Indians,  at  Re- 
hoboth,  the  most  centrally  located  of  our  mis 
sion  posts.  It  was  a  matter  of  gratitude  and  sat 
isfaction  to  all  concerned  when  the  Board  an 
nounced  the  acceptance  of  its  appointment  by 
Dr.  Wilbur  P.  Sipe,  as  our  first  medical  mis 
sionary  to  the  Navahoes.  This  brother  entered 
upon  the  service  full  of  love  and  enthusiasm,  be 
ing  well  acquainted  with  the  needs  of  those 
whom  he  was  called  to  serve.  But  what  a  hard 
and  sad  blow  it  was  to  all  those  who  had  the 
Mission  and  also  his  work  upon  their  hearts, 
when  in  the  following  year  the  Lord  called  him 
home  and  to  higher  service.  Our  loss  was  his. 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         211 

gain,  and  in  humble  Christian  submission  we 
bowed  as  a  Church  to  His  will,  Whose  work  it 
was  and  Who  always  knows  what  is  best  and 
does  what  is  to  the  highest  interests  of  His  cause. 

The  first  trained  nurse,  sent  to  assist  the  doc 
tor  in  the  Hospital  work,  was  Mrs.  R.  Van  der 
Veen  Heusinkveld.  Expecting  to  work  under 
the  supervision  of  the  doctor,  she  found  herself, 
when  arriving  on  the  field,  face  to  face  with  the 
task  of  "carrying  on"  alone.  The  Indians,  not 
as  yet  accustomed  to  come  to  the  Hospital,  she 
was  compelled  to  carry  the  service  to  them 
in  their  hogans.  Not  in  the  least  daunted  by  the 
unexpected  change  of  plans,  she  began  to  train 
one  of  the  Indian  girls  as  an  assistant,  and  to 
gether  they  went  up  and  down  the  Navaho  coun 
try  bringing  aid  and  relief  where  it  was  re 
quired,  and  soon  they  were  able  to  persuade  a 
few  that  could  not  be  cared  for  in  their  homes  to 
come  to  the  Hospital  for  treatment.  Before 
leaving  the  field  and  her  work,  Mrs.  Heusink 
veld  had  the  signal  pleasure  of  seeing  her  faith 
ful  assistant  graduate  as  the  first  Navaho  trained 
nurse  and  take  up  field  work  among  her  own 
people.  This  was  Mrs.  Christine  Hood  Whipple, 
and  a  year  later  Mrs.  Fannie  Becenti  Denitdele 
passed  the  required  examination  and  graduated 
as  an  accomplished  nurse,  highly  respected  by 
both  the  Indian  and  white  patients. 

The  second  physician  to  be  in  charge  of  the 
Rehoboth  Hospital  and  its  field  work  was 


212          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Dr.  C.  J.  K.  Moore.  A  man  especially  well- 
equipped  for  this  service  and  one  who,  under 
standing  the  peculiar  needs  of  the  Navahoes, 
sought  in  every  way  to  help  them.  During  his 
stay  the  Hospital  constantly  gained  in  reputa 
tion  among  the  Indians  and  whites.  After  the 
departure  of  our  first  trained  nurse,  who  for  a 
short  time  had  been  assisted  by  Mrs.  B.  Simme- 
link  van  Pernis,  Mrs.  Sena  Voss  Hoogezand,  a 
graduate  of  the  well  and  everywhere  favorably 
known  Hackley  Hospital  of  Muskegon,  Mich., 
took  charge  of  the  Hospital  service,  and  for  some 
time  after  Dr.  Moore  resigned,  she,  with  the  In 
dian  help  and  frequent  visits  by  Dr.  L.  S.  Hui- 
zenga  from  Tohatchi,  kept  the  ever-increasing 
work  going.  Our  third  medical  missionary  was 
the  present  one  in  charge,  Dr.  J.  D.  Mulder,  and 
he  was  first  assisted  by  Miss  Maude  Koster,  R.  N., 
who,  to  the  great  regret  of  all,  was  compelled  to 
resign  because  of  ill-health,  and  her  consecrated 
services  will  never  be  forgotten;  at  present  the 
doctor's  assistants  are  the  Misses  Jeanette  Lam, 
R.  N.,  and  Fanny  M.  Van  der  Wai.  What  the 
status  of  the  service  is  at  the  present  time  can  be 
gleaned  from  the  presentation  of  the  work 
by  the  doctor.  If  the  churches  understood  the 
extreme  need  for  increased  hospital  facilities, 
then  surely  all  those  which  have  not  yet  made  a 
special  contribution  for  this  department  would 
do  so  immediately.  One  day's  visit  at  the  Mis 
sion  would  convince  the  most  prejudiced  and 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         213 

convert  him  from  a  cold  critic  into  a  most  en 
thusiastic  supporter  of  Medical  Missions. 

To  meet  Dr.  Mulder,  our  one  medical  mis 
sionary  to  the  Indians,  is  to  meet  a  man  who 
loves  his  work  and  is  constantly  on  the  lookout 
for  ways  and  means  by  which  the  Hospital  and 
field  service  can  be  improved.  He  is  highly  re 
spected  by  his  fellow-physicians  of  Gallup  and 
those  of  the  neighboring  Government  schools. 
He  is  continually  called  by  them  for  consulta 
tion  in  difficult  cases,  and  is  often  asked  to  assist 
in  operations.  The  Government  has  also  rec 
ognized  the  value  of  his  services  when  it  re 
quested  him  to  take  charge  of  the  medical  work 
at  the  Tohatchi  Government  Boarding  School  in 
the  absence  of  a  regular  physician  at  that  place. 
It  behooves  us  as  a  Church  to  appreciate  the 
services  of  this  consecrated  worker,  and  remem 
ber  him,  with  his  assistants  and  their  labors,  in 
our  prayers. 


214  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

MEDICAL  WORK  AMONG  THE  NAVAHOES 


J.  D.  MULDER,  M.  D.,  Rehoboth,  N.  M. 

HPHE  SICK  among  'the  Navahoes  are  still  to  a 
*•  very  great  extent  taken  care  of  by  their  own 
medicine  men.  Very  few  patients  come  to  me 
that  have  not  first  been  under  their  care.  The 
method  of  these  priest-doctors  is  the  same  to 
day  as  for  ages  past.  Disease  is  attributed  to 
evil  influence.  The  diagnosis  of  a  case  consists 
in  finding  the  reason  why  harm  has  come  to  an 
individual.  The  medicine  man  therefore  cares 
little  about  the  history  of  the  patient's  trouble 
nor  does  he  examine  him;  he  depends  on  divi 
nation.  Some  consult  the  stars,  others  say  they 
are  inspired  by  wind  and  breeze  or  while  shak 
ing  the  hands  over  the  sick.  As  to  the  cause  of 
the  trouble,  it  may  be  that  the  patient  has  some 
years  ago  harmed  a  sacred  animal,  as  a  coyote, 
bear  or  rattlesnake;  if  threatened  with  blindness 
he  has  probably  looked  upon  his  mother-in-law, 
granted  he  has  one.  As  to  the  treatment,  this 
consists  in  ceremonies  carried  out  in  the  mi 
nutest  detail,  consisting  of  chants,  sand-paint 
ings,  dances,  sacrifices,  etc.,  together  with  the 
administrations  of  herbs,  the  latter  only  to  such 
an  extent  and  of  such  a  nature  as  the  special 
chant  demands. 

That  such  a  theory  of  disease  is  harmful  to 
both  individual  and  tribe  need  scarcely  be  men 
tioned.  There  is  no  contagion!  Think  of  a 


216          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

room  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in  diameter  crowded 
with  people,  no  ventilation,  except  a  hole  in  the 
roof  for  the  escape  of  smoke.  At  the  farther  end 
of  this  room  sits  a  patient  suffering  from  small 
pox.  The  priest-doctor  has  painted  his  naked 
body  black,  one  white  pustule  after  the  other 
crowds  its  way  to  the  surface,  however,  making 
him  a  strange  spectre.  They  are  holding  a 
seven-day  chant  over  this  man.  Relatives  and 
friends  come  from  far  and  near,  to  be  present  or 
to  partake  of  the  ceremony.  Before  two  weeks 
have  passed  the  disease  has  spread  in  all 
directions. 

What  about  injuries?  Last  fall  a  Navaho  boy, 
living  near  the  Black  Mountains,  some  eighty 
miles  from  Rehoboth,  met  with  an  accident.  A 
broken  bone  protruded  thru  torn  muscles. 
Medicine  men  were  engaged  to  heal  this  wound. 
One  after  the  other,  however,  finished  his 
prayers,  sand-paintings  and  administration  of 
medicine  without  avail.  Days  and  months  the 
child  lay  and  suffered.  In  March,  after  long 
consultation,  the  child  was  finally  taken  to  a 
hospital  some  forty-five  miles  distant.  Here  I 
was  called  to  amputate  the  leg,  the  bone  of 
which  was  destroyed  for  over  six  inches.  Thru 
God's  Providence  his  life  was  spared,  and  in  a 
short  time,  although  maimed,  he  was  relieved 
and  happy  to  return  home. 

There  is  a  variety  of  human  ills  which  above 
all  others  demands  our  attention.  A  short  time 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         217 

ago  an  old  trader  told  me,  he  at  that  moment 
could  tell  me  of  ten  confinement  cases  in  his 
vicinity  that  had  died  without  aid  or  where  un 
trained  hands  mutilated  the  patient  to  such  an 
extent  that  death  resulted.  "In  sorrow  thou 
shalt  bring  forth  children"  is  also  the  rule 
among  the  Indian.  The  squaw,  accustomed  to 
hardships,  may  stoically  show  no  sign  of  pain, 
she  suffers;  and  is  subject  to  as  many  abnormal 
ities  as  her  white  sister.  One  night  I  was  called 
to  visit  an  Indian  camp  some  thirty-five  miles 
from  here.  A  woman  had  been  in  labor  for 
days.  Four  medicine  men  were  sending  up  their 
prayers,  but  in  vain.  Not  many  more  hours  and 
she  would  have  been  taken  from  her  home  to 
some  desolate  spot  to  die.  After  a  counsel  last 
ing  almost  for  hours,  I  was  finally  permitted  to 
afford  relief. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  speak  of  the  terrible 
eye  disease  Trachoma,  which  causes  untold  suf 
fering  and  much  blindness,  nor  of  the  white 
plague,  Tuberculosis,  which  demands  many 
lives,  to  show  the  need  of  medical  work  among 
the  Navahoes. 

What  is  done  to  help  the  Navaho  medically? 
The  work  of  Government  and  Church  combined, 
does  not  nearly  suffice,  to  care  for  the  sick  of 
some  thirty  thousand  Navahoes  wandering  over 
large  areas.  Our  Church  maintains  a  Hospital 
of  sixteen  beds,  which,  God  willing,  will  soon  be 
enlarged.  Navahoes  are  here  cared  for  free  of 


218          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

charge;  medicine  is  given  or  they  are  entered  as 
patients.  The  Hospital  force  consists  of  doctor, 
nurse,  assistant  nurse  and  Navaho  girls  who  are 
taught  to  be  of  service  among  their  people.  The 
capacity  of  this  Hospital  often  exceeds  the  num 
ber  of  beds.  Our  maxim  is,  "As  long  as  there  is 
floor  space  we  have  room."  Last  spring  it  hap 
pened  several  times  that  we  had  more  patients 
on  the  floor  than  in  bed.  In  a  city  hospital  it  is 
easy  to  refuse  admittance;  here  it  is  often  prac 
tically  impossible.  Too  sick  to  return,  we  must 
admit,  no  matter  if  our  beds  are  taken  or  the 
disease  is  contagious.  They  come  with  all  the 
ills  human  being  are  subject  to,  from  imaginary 
to  real.  They  come  requesting  us  to  remove 
from  their  body  some  imaginary  monster,  they 
come  to  get  relief  for  toothache,  no  longer  fancy 
ing  the  Navaho  way  of  having  the  tooth  knocked 
out  with  hammer  and  peg.  I  also  travel  by  car 
and  horse  as  much  as  time  permits,  to  care  for 
sick  in  their  hogans.  It  is,  however,  impossible 
to  follow  up  these  cases,  as  they  are  spread  over 
such  large  areas. 

Their  willingness  to  be  aided  is,  thru  God's 
grace,  increasing.  Some  five  years  ago  it  was 
difficult  to  persuade  them  to  come  to  the  Hos 
pital.  People  had  died  there,  and  a  house  in 
which  people  died  is  supposed  to  be  inhabited 
by  evil  spirits.  Patients  had  gone  home,  telling 
the  wierdest  tales  of  sounds  heard  and  spirits 
seen.  Add  to  this  the  hatred  of  the  medicine 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        219 

men  whose  religion  and  income  are  at  stake, 
and  it  is  no  wonder  that  a  strange  doctor  did 
not  readily  gain  their  confidence  and  a  tabooed 
Hospital  did  not  attract  them.  But  superstition 
is  on  the  wane.  The  power  of  the  priest-doctor 
is  questioned.  Patients  healed  from  various  ail 
ments  go  as  far  as  seventy  miles  in  all  directions, 
and  although  the  medicine  men  invariably  as 
cribe  their  recovery  to  some  chant  held  in  the 
past,  they  are  losing  ground.  The  Navaho  also 
becomes  more  daring  to  face  the  medicine  man. 
Not  long  ago  I  was  asked  by  a  young,  unedu 
cated  Navaho  to  follow  him  into  his  hogan  and 
examine  his  two  sick  children,  while  a  chant 
was  in  progress.  A  deed  usually  considered  a 
sacrilege.  To  show  how  anxious  they  are  at 
times  to  secure  our  services  is  well  illustrated  by 
a  family  who  three  times  sent  a  messenger  sev 
enty  miles,  requesting  me  to  come  and  give  aid 
to  an  injured  shepherd  girl.  Conditions  in  the 
Hospital  forced  me  to  postpone  the  trip  for 
several  days. 

The  fact,  however,  that  we  are  gaining  ground 
may  not  put  us  off  our  guard.  Superstition  still 
hangs  as  a  shroud  over  these  people.  And  no 
sooner  are  the  bonds  loosened,  but  Satan  stands 
ready  to  cast  the  heathen,  awakening  from  sup 
erstition,  into  agnosticism  and  doubt.  The  Nav 
aho  needs  above  all  the  knowledge  of  the  true 
God,  and  medical  work,  no  matter  how  greatly 
needed,  can  only  be  of  real  and  lasting  value  if 
it  aids  in  spreading  the  Gospel. 


220          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

XI. 
EDUCATIONAL  MISSIONS 

AS  WE  USE  the  terms  and  speak  of  "Medi- 
**  cal  Missions,"  and  "Evangelistic  Missions," 
so  also  of  "Educational  Missions,"  remembering, 
however,  that  each  constitutes  a  part  of  the  one 
great  enterprise,  in  which  Divine  and  human 
forces  co-operate  for  the  evangelization  and 
christianization  of  the  world.  Educational  Mis 
sions  is  in  truth  a  misnomer  the  moment  we 
mean  by  the  term  the  establishment  and  propa 
gation  of  educational  work  and  educational  in 
stitutions  separate  and  apart  from  the  other  de 
partments  of  missionary  activity.  Only  when 
the  vital,  inseparable  relations  of  all  the  parts 
to  the  whole  are  recognized,  can  we  estimate  the 
character  and  value  of  each  part.  The  one  great 
purpose  is  and  always  must  remain  the  bring 
ing  of  the  Gospel  of  light  and  life  to  those  grop 
ing  in  darkness  and  lost  in  the  realm  of  death. 
Consequently  the  schools  established  among  the 
heathen,  whether  they  be  grammar  schools  or 
are  institutions  of  higher  learning,  must  be 
per  se  schools  of  Christian  instruction.  Not  only 
must  the  atmosphere  of  the  school-room  and  on 
the  campus  be  Christian,  but  all  the  branches  of 
education  must  be  taught  in  the  light  of  that 
Word,  which  is  presented  as  the  one  and  only 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO        221 

infallible  rule  and  measure  of  faith  and  life,  "a 
lamp  unto  our  feet  and  a  light  unto  our  path." 

It  can  hardly  be  true  that  the  Church  has  ful 
filled  its  mission  to  the  world  lying  in  darkness 
when  it  has  witnessed  once  or  twice  of  the  love 
of  God  manifested  in  the  gift  of  His  Son,  Who 
came  not  to  condemn  but  to  save  that  world. 
The  mind  of  the  heathen  child  born  in  the  dark 
ness  of  ignorance,  sorrow,  and  sin,  is  in  no  way 
able  to  grasp  the  blessed  truths  of  the  Gospel, 
even  if  it  be  able  to  understand  the  language 
in  which  these  truths  are  presented.  As  a  nec 
essary  preparation  for  the  presentation  of  the 
Christian  truths,  therefore,  the  mind  must  first 
be  developed  and  the  child  taught  to  think  in 
terms  of  the  Christian  faith.  We  do  thus  for  our 
own  children,  born  under  the  light  of  the  Gos 
pel,  much  more  should  we  do  it  for  the  children 
born  in  heathen  darkness,  although  it  may  prove 
to  be  a  costly  and  tedious  work. 

Such  an  educational  institution  for  Christian 
instruction  was  established  and  opened  for  the 
children  of  the  Navahoes  at  Rehoboth,  N.  M.,  by 
the  Christian  Reformed  Church,  in  1903.  After 
different  ones,  in  conjunction  with  other  \vork, 
had  taught  the  children  as  best  they  could,  the 
first  regular  teacher  was  Miss  Cocia  Hartog 
(Wezeman),  of  Chicago,  111.  She  came  in  1906 
and  entered  upon  the  work  with  the  enthusiasm 
of  faith  and  consecration.  During  the  five  years 
she  taught  at  this  school  the  children  certainly 


222          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

made  remarkable  progress,  and  it  was  with  keen 
regret  that  her  resignation,  because  of  ill-health, 
was  accepted.  Her  successor  was  Mr.  (now  Dr.) 
G.  Heusinkveld,  of  Alamosa,  Colo.  He  came  in 
1911  and  he  left  in  1914  for  the  purpose  of  pur 
suing  a  medical  course.  Although  his  stay  was 
comparatively  short,  nevertheless  he  left  his  im 
press  upon  the  institution.  In  the  meantime  the 
number  of  scholars  increased  to  such  an  extent 
that  a  second  or  additional  teacher  was  required 
for  the  beginners  and  primary  grades.  Miss 
Carrie  Ten  Houten,  of  Holland,  Mich.,  served  in 
this  capacity  for  several  years,  being  in  turn  suc 
ceeded  by  Miss  C.  Van  Koevering.  The  third 
Principal  was  Miss  Kathryn  Venema  (Sikkema), 
of  Lucas,  Mich.,  who,  to  the  regret  of  the  Board, 
only  remained  two  years,  during  which  time  she 
gave  evident  proof  of  her  ability  to  understand 
the  Indian  to  apply  the  required  means  for  his 
mental  and  intellectual  development.  The  next 
one  to  take  up  the  work  was  Miss  Nellie  De  Jong, 
of  whom  it  must  be  said  that  she  was  especially 
qualified  for  the  teaching  of  Indian  children, 
having  had  a  few  years  of  actual  experience  at 
Zuni,  N.  M.,  and  then  a  special  course  at  the  Nor 
mal  School  at  Flagstaff,  Arizona,  with  this  pur 
pose  in  view.  Ill-health  was  once  more  the  rea 
son  to  cause  this  worker  to  lay  down  a  work 
dear  to  her  hear.t  The  number  of  scholars  had 
now  been  increased  to  a  hundred,  and  it  was 
felt  that  because  of  the  peculiar  needs  of  Indian 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        223 

children,  it  was  not  possible  for  two  teachers  to 
do  justice  to  the  work,  consequently  it  was  de 
cided  to  add  a  third  teacher.  At  present,  there 
fore,  the  teaching-staff  at  this  Mission  Boarding 
School  consists  of  the  Misses  Renzina  Stob,  Prin 
cipal  and  teacher  of  the  higher  grades,  Nellie 
Lam,  for  the  intermediates,  and  Jeanette  Van 
der  Werp  for  the  beginners  and  primary  grades. 
To  these  three  consecrated  workers  the  hundred 
children  of  this  Boarding  School  are  entrusted 
for  their  education  and  training,  and  we  are  as 
sured  that  it  would  be  a  difficult  matter  to  find  a 
trio  of  more  consecrated  workers  at  any  Mission. 
In  1908  another  educational  institution  was 
established,  namely,  the  Mission  Day  School  at 
Zuni,  N.  M.,  for  the  children  of  the  Zuni  Indians. 
Miss  Nellie  De  Jong,  afterwards  Principal  at 
Rehoboth,  as  stated  above,  was  the  first  teacher 
at  this  place.  The  facilities  were  very  poor  and 
inadequate,  and  since  the  children  lodged  at 
their  own  homes,  it  was  assuredly  no  sinecure  to 
be  crowded  with  these  children  for  a  whole  day 
in  a  little,  poorly-ventilated  school-room.  The 
progress  made,  however,  was  beyond  expecta 
tion  and  the  work  of  the  teacher  was  highly  ap 
preciated.  Different  circumstances  made  a 
change  of  teachers  necessary  also  at  this  place 
from  time  to  time,  so  that  we  count  amongst 
those  wrho  during  the  past  decade  taught  in  this 
Mission  Day  School  at  Zuni  the  following  daugh 
ters  of  our  Church:  the  Misses  Alice  Aardsma 


224          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

(Hoekstra),  Anna  Van  der  Riet,  Dena  Brink 
(Van  der  Wagen)  and  Sophia  Fryling.  These 
five  teachers  of  Zuni  have  done  a  noble  work, 
and  they  can  feel  assured  that  as  it  was  done  in 
the  Lord,  according  to  His  Word  it  shall  not  be 
in  vain. 

A  third  institution  for  educational  work,  but 
of  a  higher  order,  was  established  at  Tohatchi, 
N.  M.,  when  the  Rev.  L.  P.  Brink  was  missionary 
at  that  place  (see  the  Chapter  on  "The  Pioneer 
Missionary).  The  purpose  of  this  school  for 
higher  education  and  training  was  to  prepare 
for  Gospel  work  among  the  Navahoes  by  the 
Navaho.  "Every  race  in  the  end  must  be  ele 
vated  by  its  own  educated  leadership,"  said  a 
wise  leader  of  his  people.  The  discovery,  train 
ing  and  using  of  a  native  Christian  leadership  is 
therefore  a  worthy  goal  of  missionary  endeavor 
in  any  field.  It  is  perhaps  true  that  we  have 
been  more  remiss  in  not  urging  this  in  season 
and  out  of  season,  in  our  Indian  work  than  we 
should  have  been.  That  the  Indian  is  also  cap 
able  of  leadership  no  one  really  acquainted  with 
him  will  question  or  deny,  but  most  emphat 
ically  it  must  be  said,  if  he  is  going  to  succeed 
then  he  must  assuredly  have  the  right  kind  of 
training.  Much  thought  has  been  given  to  this 
matter  not  only  by  the  men  on  the  field,  but  also 
by  the  members  of  the  Board  at  home.  A  Union 
Training  School  for  the  whole  of  the  Navaho 
tribe  and  country  was  proposed,  and  accepted 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO        225 

by  our  Church ,  but  evidently  rejected  by  the 
other  Churches  laboring  among  the  Navahoes, 
for  it  has  not  been  realized.  The  latest  decision 
in  the  matter  is,  the  establishment  of  a  Training 
School  at  Rehoboth,  or  rather,  the  gradual  de 
velopment  of  a  Training  .School  out  of  the  pres 
ent  Boarding  School.  Personally  we  question 
the  wisdom  of  this  latest  decision.  This  school 
for  the  training  of  young  men  for  Gospel  work 
among  their  own  people  should  be,  in  our  esti 
mation,  located  at  such  a  place  where  it  would 
be  possible  for  the  students  to  raise  the  greater 
part  of  the  necessary  provisions  for  the  table, 
and  thru  employment,  during  a  part  of  their 
time,  provide  for  their  clothes  and  tuition.  This 
School  should  be  a  self-sustaining  institution,  if 
at  all  possible,  and  we  believe  that  if  it  is  cor 
rectly  located,  it  can  be  that  to  a  great  extent  at 
least.  But  then  it  must  by  no  means  be  located 
at  Rehoboth,  even  with  all  the  advantages  which 
this  place  otherwise,  and  very  naturally,  offers. 

The  following  sketch,  written  by  our  Reho 
both  Principal,  is  one  of  great  interest.  It  takes 
and  places  us,  as  it  were,  in  the  very  atmosphere 
of  this  Mission  School  on  the  opening  day  of  a 
new  year.  It  makes  our  hearts  go  out  in  real 
sympathy  to  those  little  ones  who  are  there  for 
the  first  time,  being  real  shy,  they  are  frightened 
by  all  they  see,  and  at  night,  when  no  one  sees 
them,  they  sob  themselves  to  sleep  because  they 
feel  so  lonesome  and  forlorn  without  the  others 


226          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

who  are  always  with  them  in  the  hogan.  It  gives 
us  a  little  glimpse,  a  peep,  as  it  were,  into  the 
very  mind,  heart,  and  soul  of  the  Indian  child. 
Read  it  carefully,  and  then  remember  the 
School,  with  its  teachers  and  scholars,  in  your 
prayers  and  with  your  gifts. 


EDUCATIONAL  WORK  AMONG  THE 
NAVAHOES 


MISS  RENZINA   STOB,   Principal-Teacher  at 
Rehoboth,  N.  M. 

A  NEW  school  year  has  begun.  Everywhere 
*"•  are  signs  of  life  and  activity.  Groups  of 
children  stand  about  rehearsing  the  events  of 
the  happy  vacation,  now  past.  Here  and  there 
are  little  new-comers.  How  strange  the  new 
world  at  school  is  to  them!  Everything  is 
strange,  new  faces,  large  buildings,  the  first  bath, 
the  complete  set  of  "white  people's  clothes,"  the 
heretofore  unheard-  of  duties,  such  as  making 
beds,  setting  tables,  etc.,  and  going  to  a  room 
with  many  other  children  who  sit  perfectly  still 
and  do  just  as  one,  called  the  "School-lady"  bids. 

Reing  confronted  by  a  new  class  of  little  be 
ginners  fresh  from  heathendom,  one  wonders 
what  the  development  of  the  raw  material  in 
hand  will  bring  forth. 

They  look  about  in  bewilderment.  Many  are 
mere  babes.  Their  parents  have  brought  them 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        227 

to  receive  an  education.  Very  early  do  they  ex 
perience  the  pangs  of  leaving  home  and  dear 
ones!  For  often  they  do  not  see  their  relatives 
again  until  the  summer  vacation.  Many  a  little 
one  sobs  itself  to  sleep  the  first  week,  and  the 
Matron,  like  the  "Old  Woman"  who  lived  in  a 
shoe,  must  needs  be  a  mother  to  all. 

To  teach  minds  unaccustomed  to  looking  be 
yond  their  monotonous  surroundings,  to  think, 
to  reason,  to  apply  the  knowledge  gained,  to  en 
large  the  vision,  to  open  the  windows  of  the 
soul,  to  instill  high  and  pure  purposes  and  ideals 
in  life,  to  train  for  useful  citizenship,  and  fit 
them  for  service  for  their  people  that  they  may 
be  a  blessing  to  them  temporally  and  spiritually, 
these  are  some  of  the  ideals  of  the  educational 
department.  A  gigantic  task,  indeed!  A  task 
that  well-nigh  overwhelms  one  with  a  sense  of 
responsibility  and  inability.  The  security  of 
God's  promise,  "My  grace  is  sufficient,"  is,  how 
ever,  a  powerful  stimulus  to  spare  no  effort  to 
at  least  try  to  reach  these  ideals. 

In  accepting  new  scholars,  preference  is 
usually  given  to  those  six  or  seven  years  of  age. 
They  are  then  less  shy  and  diffident,  and  will 
respond  more  readily  than  those  older.  The 
first  year  is  spent  in  getting  the  child  somewhat 
acquainted  with  the  language.  To  gain  this  end 
all  kinds  of  ingenious  methods  and  devices  are 
resorted  to.  Objects  are  used  whenever  possible 
to  teach  new  words,  and  short  sentences  acted 


228  BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

out.  Little  Language  Games  are  played  and 
simple  songs  and  verses  learned.  We  have  a 
few  white  children  of  the  workers  attending 
school,  and  they  fairly  bubble  over  with  eager 
ness  to  answer  Teacher's  questions  when  their 
little  dusky  comrades  seem  slow. 

At  our  Rehoboth  Mission  Boarding  School  we 
have  all  grades,  from  one  to  eight  inclusive.  The 
Government  Schools  usually  go  no  higher  than 
the  fourth  or  fifth  grade.  Then  the  more  ad 
vanced  ones  are  transferred  to  some  large  non- 
reservation  Government  School,  such  as  Sher 
man  Institute  in  California,  Phoenix,  or  Albu 
querque.  There  they  complete  the  eighth  or 
tenth  grade  and  learn  a  trade. 

All  Indian  children,  both  of  the  Government 
and  Mission  .Schools  attend  school  just  half  a 
day,  and  are  detailed  to  a  particular  kind  of 
work  the  other  half.  Thus  the  teachers  do  not 
have  the  same  classes  for  both  sessions.  The 
school  hours  are  usually  from  8:30  to  11:30 
a.  m.,  and  from  1 :  00  to  4:  00  p.  m.  Since  they 
go  just  half  a  day  at  a  time,  from  one  and  a  half 
to  two  years  are  generally  required  to  complete 
a  grade. 

It  takes  some  time  to  really  get  acquainted 
with  these  children  and  gain  their  confidence. 
Therefore,  especially,  is  a  frequent  change  of 
teachers  so  detrimental  to  the  school.  «So  much 
time  is  lost  in  trying  to  find  out  what  the  pupils 
know,  for  unlike  white  children,  they  do  not 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        229 

like  to  let  the  teacher  see  how  much  they  know; 
on  the  contrary,  one  often  gets  the  impression 
that  they  wish  to  let  their  teacher  see  how  little 
they  know. 

Their  written  work  is  often  better  than  their 
oral.  One  reason  for  this  is  their  extreme  sen 
sitiveness.  They  feel  at  a  loss  to  know  which 
words  to  use  and  hesitate  for  fear  they  will  be 
ridiculed  by  the  others.  One  of  our  fifth  graders 
in  using  a  spelling-word,  "confusion"  in  a  sen 
tence,  said,  "The  cooks  are  confusion  the  flour." 
He  had  worked  in  the  kitchen  and  evidently  was 
speaking  from  experience. 

English,  naturally,  is  emphasized  in  all  the 
grades,  especially  oral  reproductions  of  stories, 
conversation  lessons,  rapid  drills  in  questions 
and  answers  and  composition  work.  One  can 
not  be  too  simple  in  talking  to  them.  Things 
which  are  so  common  to  us  as  to  need  no  ex 
planation  whatever,  are  often  entirely  without 
the  pale  of  their  comprehension. 

On  the  whole,  the  Navaho  children  are  good 
memorizers.  They  often  memorize  parts  of 
their  lesson  when  they  think  they  will  be  called 
on  to  recite.  Of  course,  it  is  at  once  detected 
by  the  teacher  as  the  strangest  words  and  sen 
tences  are  forthcoming  at  times.  Our  little  be 
ginners  learned  a  new  song  one  day  and  sang  it 
at  a  social  gathering.  The  workers  could  hardly 
keep  back  a  smile  as  our  little  sunbeams  were 
singing  lustily,  "Jesus  wants  me  for  a  sunbean." 


230          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Arithmetic  is  difficult  for  most  of  the  children, 
particularly  those  problems  which  call  for  deep 
thinking.  It  is  a  subject,  however,  which  they 
will  apply  themselves  to  more  diligently  than 
some  others,  for  the  older  ones,  especially, 
realize  the  value  of  it.  They  are  intensely  prac 
tical,  and  when  they  see  something  which  they 
.think  will  come  in  handy  after  leaving  school, 
it  is  quickly  grasped.  One  of  our  big  boys  re 
marked  about  Geography  that  he  didn't  see 
much  value  in  it.  He  said  he  guessed  the  train 
would  be  glad  to  take  him  wherever  he  wished 
to  go.  Since  drawing  is  natural  to  many  of 
them,  they  draw  excellent  maps  and  take  great 
pride  in  them.  They  have  been  unusually  inter 
ested  in  China  since  the  missionaries'  visit  here. 

Story-telling  time  is  always  a  welcome  one.  I 
think  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  more  attentive 
child  anyhwere  than  the  Navaho.  A  true  story 
is  his  favorite.  Little  lessons  in  History,  Hy 
giene,  and  Current  Events  are  given  in  this 
form,  and  proves  very  satisfactory.  We  told 
them  one  day  about  the  air  flight  from  London 
to  Australia  as  described  in  the  "Geographical." 
They  listened  breathlessly,  and  after  supper, 
when  visiting  the  dormitory  after  the  boys  were 
snugly  tucked  in»  they  asked  the  Matron  to 
please  ask  us  to  tell  them  the  story  again.  Such 
instruction  forms  a  valuable  part  of  their  edu 
cation,  for  since  their  horizon  is  so  limited,  they 
must  be  brought  in  touch  with  the  activities  of 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        231 

the  world;  an  interest  must  be  created  so  that 
there  will  be  a  desire  to  know  more  about  them 
and  thus  an  incentive  for  reading  be  produced. 
Rev.  Brink's  stereopticon  talks  on  various  coun 
tries  and  miscellaneous  subjects  of  interest  are 
very  helpful  toward  this  end,  too. 

Part  of  the  educational  training  is  the  Friday 
afternoon  Assembly  meeting,  when  all  the  pu 
pils  gather  in  the  chapel  from  3 :  45  to  4 :  15,  and 
a  short  program  of  recitations,  songs,  and  read 
ings  is  rendered  by  the  pupils  in  turn.  This  is 
done  to  train  them  to  speak  up  promptly  and 
loudly  and  prepare  them  to  take  part  in 
programs. 

We  sometimes  hear  the  remark,  "Oh,  those 
little  Indians  sit  so  quietly,  surely  a  teacher  does 
not  have  to  be  such  a  good  disciplinarian."  They 
are  sadly  mistaken.  These  children  are  adepts 
in  doing  things  so  slyly  and  unsuspiciously  that 
it  takes  a  very  alert  teacher  to  find  who  the  of 
fender  is.  They  can  be  very  stubborn  at  times 
and  have  an  almost  indomitable  will.  If,  how 
ever,  they  know  that  the  teacher  means  what  he 
says,  and  will  have  obedience,  one's  troubles  are 
considerably  lessened. 

Another  strong  characteristic  of  Indian  chil 
dren  is  their  keen  observing  powers.  They  study 
one's  character  carefully  and  are  quick  to  take 
advantage  of  any  weakness  they  detect. 

Does  the  Navaho  appreciate  an  education? 
Seemingly  not  in  many  cases.  Yet  one  often  gets 


232          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

an  encouraging  word  from  some  older  scholar 
or  an  ex-pupil.  They  are  slow  to  admit  the  fact 
but  more  and  more  do  we  see  that  they  do 
realize  the  necessity  of  an  education,  and  appre 
ciate  it.  The  future  of  their  race  depends  upon 
the  youth  and  will  be  what  the  educated  ones 
make  it.  It  is  as  one  of  our  seventh  grade  schol 
ars  stated  in  a  Composition  today  on  "The  Nav 
aho,"  "The  future  of  the  Navaho  race  depends 
on  the  Navaho  children  at  school." 


INHOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         233- 

XII. 
INDUSTRIAL  MISSIONS 

INDUSTRIAL,  trades,  or  vocational  schools  are 
•I  not  new  in  the  educational  realm.  In  our 
own  United  States  we  have  some  wonderful  in 
stitutions  of  this  character.  Institutions  which 
stand  as  a  lasting  monument  to  the  memory  of 
their  honored  founders.  One  that  immediately 
comes  to  our  mind  is  Hampton  Normal  and 
Agricultural  Institute  of  Virginia,  founded  for 
"the  instruction  of  youth  in  the  various  common 
school,  academic,  and  industrial  branches,  the 
best  methods  of  teaching  the  same  and  the  best 
mode  of  practical  industry  in  its  application  ta 
agriculture  and  the  mechanical  arts."  The 
founder  and  father  of  Hampton,  an  Institute  for 
Negroes  and  Indians,  was  General  Samuel  Chap 
man  Armstrong,  son  of  Richard  and  Clarissa 
Armstrong,  missionaries  to  Hawaii,  where  Sam 
uel  was  born  in  1839.  He  believed  that  these 
primitive  people,  Negroes  and  Indians,  should 
be  taught  to  become  self-reliant  and  indepen 
dent,  to  realize  that  labor  is  not  disgraceful;  and 
thru  hard  work  to  keep  out  of  mischief.  This 
education  must  be  earned  by  the  pupils  as  far 
as  possible  thru  their  own  efforts  and  after 
graduation  they  must  be  able  to  support  them 
selves  by  the  work  of  their  hands  as  well  as  by 


234          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

their  brains.  Mental  and  manual  training  must 
be  combined.  These  were  the  methods  he  fol 
lowed  and  the  results  accomplished  at  Hamp 
ton  have  astounded  all  who  have  read  the  story 
of  General  Armstrong's  life,  struggles,  and 
triumphs.  Another  wonderful  example,  to  men 
tion  no  others,  of  what  can  be  accomplished  in 
this  line  is  the  Tukegee  Normal  and  Industrial 
Institute  of  Tuskegee,  Alabama,  of  which  Booker 
T.  Washington,  a  graduate  of  Hampton,  was  the 
founder.  Every  one  interested  in  this  matter 
should  not  neglect  to  read  that  intensely  inter 
esting  autobiography  of  Washington,  Up  from 
Slavery. 

Naturally,  since  Missions  bring  men  and 
women  into  contact  with  primitive  peoples,  the 
question  of  industrial  improvements  also  comes 
to  the  front.  Especially  in  our  present  day  much 
is  being  said  and  written  on  this  subject,  for  it  is 
true  in  many  respects,  today  is  a  day  of  social 
and  industrial  problems  at  home  and  abroad. 
Verily,  we  need  to  be  exceedingly  careful  with  re 
spect  to  the  extreme  emphasis  that  is  placed 
upon  these  matters,  so  that  there  seems  to  be  but 
a  seeking  of  social  and  industrial  regeneration 
rather  than  a  spiritual  one,  nevertheless  we  may 
not  ignore  this  department  of  missionary  activity 
altogether.  The  Christian  Reformed  Church 
also  came  to  realize  this  very  soon  after  it  be 
gan  its  work  among  the  Navahoes,  who  indeed 
are  known  for  their  persistent  primitiveness. 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        235 

The  Missionary  Rev.  John  Butler,  of  Tuba, 
Arizona,  a  few  years  ago  described  this  primi- 
tiveness  of  the  Navahoes  as  follows :  "If  we  look 
at  the  Navaho  in  the  care  of  his  flocks  or  in  his 
fanning  operations,  the  most  crude  and  primi 
tive  methods  are  used  generally  from  start  to 
finish.  Many  instances  among  the  people  of  this 
tribe  are  in  evidence  where  the  Indian  has  had 
considerable  training  in  the  use  of  modern  im 
plements  for  soil  culture  and  general  farm  work, 
and  which  he  could  obtain  did  he  wish  them,  but 
his  appreciation  of  their  value  to  him  still  lies 
unawakened,  and  he  continues  on  in  the  old  way 
of  preparing  the  soil.  In  a  leisurely  way  he  sits 
down  every  seven  to  ten  feet  in  his  field  and, 
with  a  stick  sharpened  at  one  end,  prepares  a 
hole  deep  enough  to  reach  well  down  into  the 
moist  dirt,  where  he  deposits  twenty  to  forty 
grains  of  corn  to  a  hill.  No  less  primitive  is  his 
method  of  irrigating  his  field.  He  checkers.it 
with  very  irregular  high  borders,  disregarding 
the  contour  and  undulations  of  the  land  to  a 
great  extent.  This  often  necessitates  the  flood 
ing  of  these  enclosures  with  such  a  depth  of  wa 
ter  at  some  points  in  order  that  the  high  places 
may  be  covered,  that  it  takes  not  infrequently 
thirty  days  or  even  more  for  the  water  to  en 
tirely  disappear  by  evaporation  and  absorption 
by  the  soil.  Here  he  certainly  has  primitive 
methods  that  need  the  intervention  of  kind  but 
strong  hands  to  demonstrate  to  him  to  econom- 


236          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

ically  distribute  his  water  supply  over  a  much 
greater  acreage  and  reclaim  to  him  a  far  larger 
tillage  than  he  now  enjoys. 

"True,  his  country  is  lacking  in  some  resources 
which  are  important  factors  in  the  initial  step 
toward  a  belter  environment  for  him  in  material 
things.  But  the  Navaho  has  enough  left,  if  the 
latent  energies,  easily  discernible  in  his  makeup, 
are  once  thoroughly  awakened  and  set  in  mo 
tion,  to  draw  him  out  of  his  primitive  environ 
ment,  arrest  his  nomadic  life,  locate  him  in  a 
more  permanent  home,  and  preserve  and  give 
latitude  to  properly  exploit  the  better  ideals 
brought  back  by  the  returned  student,  from  the 
non-reservation  school  to  the  interest  of  the 
tribe.  As  it  is  now,  on  his  return,  the  student's 
conformity  to  the  white  man's  way  and  his  little 
growth  in  new  and  better  ideals,  are  immediately 
subjected  to  a  continuous  withering  'east  wind' 
of  tribal  prejudices  and  time-honored  customs. 
These  are  intolerant  of  progress,  and  the  student 
is  soon  floundering  in  such  uncertainty  and  dis 
tress,  that  in  many  cases,  he  dons  the  tribal 
dress,  wraps  himself  in  his  blanket,  and  fully 
identifies  himself  again  with  Navaho  customs 
and  ideals." 

When  the  Rehoboth  Boarding  School  was  first 
planned  and  proposed  to  the  churches,  it  was 
understood  that  it  was  also  to  be  an  Industrial 
Institute,  self-supporting  to  a  great  extent.  It  is 
now  almost  two  decades  since  it  was  established, 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        237 

and  it  must  be  admitted  that  in  the  way  of  in 
dustrial  training  it  has  not  accomplished  much 
nor  has  it  answered  in  the  way  of  self-support 
to  any  appreciable  extent  to  the  fond  hopes  and 
expectations  of  the  founders  and  supporters. 
This  is  in  no  way  meant  as  a  criticism  of  the 
work  that  has  been  done  at  this  institution  or  of 
the  things  accomplished  in  other  lines,  but  it 
simply  is  a  statement  of  the  facts  concerning  in 
dustrial  missions.  The  trouble  lies,  first  of  all,  it 
seems  to  us,  in  the  selection  of  scholars  for  this 
school.  If,  instead  of  enrolling  the  scholars  at 
five  and  six  years  of  age,  older  ones  were  se 
lected,  able  to  do  something  toward  the  obtain 
ing  of  their  education,  more  might  have  been 
accomplished  in  this  line.  For  instance,  we  are 
thinking  of  the  possibility  of  enrolling  gradu 
ates  of  the  Government  schools,  desiring  a  higher 
and  better  training  than  already  received,  but 
not  willing  to  be  sent  to  a  non-reservation  school. 
A  second  handicap  to  the  accomplishment  of 
self-support  and  industrial  training  we  find  in 
the  selection  of  the  location.  To  be  sure,  the 
present  location  has  its  advantages,  great  advan 
tages  indeed,  for  the  work  that  the  school  is  now 
doing,  but  if  it  had  been  located  where  it  would 
be  possible  to  raise  most  of  the  produce  that 
must  now  all  be  bought  at  high  prices,  what  a 
tremendous  difference  that  would  make.  All 
efforts  put  forth  in  the  way  of  farming  at  the 
present  location  have  been  practically  failures, 


238          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

and  still  every  one  must  realize  that  a  school 
farm  would  be  a  great  asset  to  the  institution. 
In  truth  it  means  so  much  that  we  would  heartily 
favor  the  purchasing  of  a  school  farm,  even  if  it 
must  be  several  miles  distant  from  the  school. 
It  seems  to  us  that  the  educational  program 
might  be  so  arranged  that  for  agricultural  and 
dairy  purposes  and  training,  the  older  boys  and 
girls  could  for  certain  periods  be  transferred  to 
the  farm.  Industries  also,  have  not  been  success 
ful  thus  far.  At  St.  Michaels,  Arizona,  a  Catholic 
school,  the  girls  are  taught  to  weave  those  beau 
tiful  Navaho  blankets  that  are  in  such  great  de 
mand  everywhere.  Surely,  this  could  also  be  done 
at  Rehoboth.  There  are  still  other  things  that  we 
might  mention,  but  we  only  want  to  reiterate 
two  things  that  lie  at  the  foundation  of  the  tre 
mendous  success  of  Hampton  and  Tuskegee: 
(1)  Every  scholar  or  student  must,  as  far  as  pos 
sible,  thru  his  own  efforts,  cover  the  expense  of 
his  education  and  training;  (2)  The  buildings 
needed  must  be,  as  much  as  possible,  built  by 
student  labor.  Of  the  hundreds  of  buildings 
found  at  these  Institutes,  the  greater  part  have 
been  entirely  erected  by  the  student-body.  These 
two  things,  it  seems  to  us,  have  been  too  often 
forgotten  regarding  Rehoboth  School  as  an 
Industrial  Institute, 

Undoubtedly,  the  several  Managers  have  had 
too  much  to  do  and  to  look  after  in  the  way  of 
routine  details,  than  that  they  could  give  much 


be 

c 

J 


240          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

attention  to  these  all-important  things.  Man 
agers  at  Rehoboth  have  also  changed  now  and 
then.  Student  L.  S.  Huizenga  and  Mr.  Mark 
Bouma  were  the  first  to  fill  this  position;  after 
them  we  have  had  especially  Messrs.  John  Spy- 
ker  and  Jacob  H.  Bosscher  with  their  assistants. 
During  the  days  of  Brother  Spyker  the  majority 
of  the  present  buildings  were  erected,  such  as  the 
Parsonage,  Mission  House,  Doctor's  home,  School 
and  Chapel,  and  the  Boys'  and  Girls'  Dormi 
tories,  the  latter  two  while  Mr.  Bosscher  was 
Manager  and  Mr.  .Spyker,  builder.  During  these 
building  operations  Brother  Spyker  had  the  op 
portunity  and  it  was  grasped,  to  give  the  older 
boys  some  practical  training  in  plastering,  ce 
ment  brick-making,  painting,  carpentry,  etc.  In 
a  little  machine  shop,  door  and  window  frames, 
as  also  tables  and  stools  for  the  dining-room 
were  manufactured,  and  at  one  time  some  of 
these  things  were  placed  on  exhibition  in  Gallup 
to  show  what  the  Rehoboth  boys  could  do  in  this 
line.  Now  we  have  always  believed  that  if  an 
industrial  trainer  of  that  calibre  could  be  per 
manently  employed,  much  in  the  way  of  Indus 
trial  Missions  might  be  accomplished. 

The  present  Manager,  Brother  J.  H.  Bosscher, 
has  many  years  of  experience  in  the  manage 
ment  and  supervision  of  the  various  departments 
of  work  at  Rehoboth.  Much  has  been  done  by 
him  in  the  way  of  repairs,  and  the  installing  of 
heating  and  lighting  plants,  as  well  as  caring  for 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         241 

the  indispensible  water  supply  for  the  Mission. 
His  work  is  highly  appreciated,  and  he  and  his 
assistants  are  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  the 
improvement  of  the  Mission.  The  following, 
kindly,  written  by  him  at  our  request,  re 
veals  his  hearty  interest  in  the  work  and  cause 
entrusted  to  his  care.  We  should  not  fail  to 
mention,  in  conclusion,  lest  any  one  perchance 
might  misunderstand  the  foregoing  impressions, 
that  the  industrial  problems  of  the  Navahoes 
create  the  most  difficult  matters  to  be  solved,  and 
that  it  is  the  least  developed  of  the  four  depart 
ments  of  missionary  activity,  and  consequently 
also  the  hardest  to  present. 


INDUSTRIAL  EFFORTS  AMONG  THE 
NAVAHOES 


MANAGER  J.  H.  BOSSCHER,  Rehoboth,  N.  M. 

tTROM  PERSONAL  OBSERVATION,  we  be- 
*•  lieve  that  as  a  whole  the  Navahoes  are  in 
dustrious  after  their  fashion.  It  is  true,  several 
of  them  like  to  hunt,  and  some  of  them  are  very 
lazy,  but  when  the  Government  or  construction 
companies  call  for  men  in  this  part  of  the  coun 
try,  you  will  find  Navaho  workmen  filling  nine- 
tenths  of  the  bill.  They  work  very  well  under 
supervision,  and  are  good  with  a  shovel  and  pick, 
taking  as  their  reward  the  highest  pay  of  un 
skilled  labor. 


242          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

But  why,  then,  is  it  necessary  to  have  Indus 
trial  Missions  among  them?  Did  you  stop  to 
think,  dear  reader,  that  we  are  dealing  with  a 
heathen  people,  uneducated,  a  people  of  un 
skilled  labor,  with  a  few  exceptions,  and  those 
exceptions  are  due  to  Industrial  Missions  among 
them?  I  said  that  these  men  work  well  under 
supervision,  but  they  lack  the  judgment  neces 
sary  to  take  up  the  responsibility  of  the  work. 
They  cannot  work  systematically  on  their  own 
accord,  getting  out  the  most  work  in  the  least 
time.  At  home  they  work  in  their  own  fashion, 
building  the  hogan,  hauling  wood,  rounding  up 
the  cattle  and  horses,  if  they  own  any,  planting 
a  little  grain,  or  freighting  for  the  Government 
or  a  neighbor  trader.  Part  of  this  work  is  but 
of  a  passing  nature;  besides,  there  is  not  enough 
to  go  around.  Those  living  farther  from  civi 
lized  life  must  find  other  means  of  support — a 
way  must  be  found  by  which  they  eventually 
can  make  a  living  independent  of  the  white  man. 
They  should  be  able  to  build  their  own  home 
more  after  the  civilized  pattern,  improve  their 
stock  and  care  for  the  soil.  They  must  also  learn 
to  repair  their  tools  and  be  more  economical. 

At  present  there  is  comparatively  very  little 
done  for  the  youth  of  the  Navaho  -tribe  as  far  as 
reservation  schools  are  concerned.  We  know  of 
no  reservation  school  where  a  complete  course 
of  the  various  trades  is  taught.  This  includes 
Government  as  well  as  Mission  schools.  Sher- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         243 

man  Institute,  Haskell,  the  Government  schools 
at  Albuquerque,  Phoenix  and  Chilocco  are  the 
only  schools  we  know  of  that  give  a  thorough 
training  in  the  various  trades,  such  as  carpentry, 
harness-making,  shoe  repairing,  painting,  and 
tailoring  for  the  boys;  domestic  science,  dress 
making,  etc.,  for  the  girls.  The  Navahoes  form 
only  a  small  percentage  of  attendance  at  these 
schools,  since  other  tribes  are  also  present. 

The  course  followed  by  the  reservation  schools 
and  one  which  we  hope  to  have  in  better  work 
ing  order  by  next  September,  is  outlined  by  the 
Department  of  the  Interior  under  the  direction 
of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  in  a  book 
entitled,  Tentative  Course  of  Study  for  the  U.  S. 
Indian  Schools.  In  this  Uncle  ,Sam  outlines  the 
primary  and  pre-vocational,  as  well  as  the  voca 
tional  course.  Where  this  course  is  followed, 
each  employee,  who  has  a  detail  of  boys  or  girls 
in  his  or  her  charge,  must  at  the  same  time  in 
struct  them  in  the  work  before  them,  as  out 
lined  in  the  above  named  Course  of  Study.  This 
does  not  mean  that  each  one  is  a  competent 
teacher  in  that  line,  but  each  instructs  as  best 
he  can,  so  the  pupil  receives  a  general  educa 
tion  in  the  various  lines  of  work. 

Thus  the  reservation  schools  give  a  more  gen 
eral  education,  and  the  non-reservation  schools 
specialize  in  the  various  trades.  Several  of  the 
pupils,  when  they  reach  the  third  or  fourth 
grades  in  the  respective  schools,  are  then  trans- 


244          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

f erred  to  the  non-reservation  schools,  where  they 
have  the  privilege  of  specializing  in  a  trade. 

Should  you  ask  the  writer  what  should  be  done 
for  our  Navaho  pupils,  and  how  to  do  it,  espe 
cially  with  a  view  towards  the  Rehoboth  School, 
as  doing  the  most  good  with  the  least  amount  of 
money,  I  suggest  and  am  firmly  convinced  of  the 
following:  That  we  should  bend  our  efforts  to 
a  more  systematic  general  training.  Why  not 
specialize?  Let  me  explain.  We  have  seen  sev 
eral  returned  students  from  the  above  named 
non-reservation  schools,  who  were  taught  and 
have  mastered  some  particular  trade,  and  upon 
returning  home  made  no  use  of  it.  Why?  Be 
cause  they  found  no  place  to  use  it  at  home,  out 
side  of  their  own  family  circle.  For  example,  I 
know  a  shoe-  and  harness-maker  who  under 
stands  his  trade,  but  makes  no  extensive  use  of 
it,  and  I  know  of  others  who  have  learned 
trades,  but  they  make  no  use  of  them,  although  I 
must  admit  that  those  who  have  been  taught 
carpentry  seem  to  find  more  use  for  the  same, 
where  they  associate  with  some  contractor  and 
work  in  a  city.  But  why  do  these,  returned  stu 
dents  not  use  their  trades  to  any  great  extent? 
Because  the  Navaho  life  does  not  call  for  it. 
There  are  at  present  not  enough  educated  Nav- 
ahoes  who  appreciate  the  progress  of  civiliza 
tion,  and  since  the  majority  live  in  the  same 
way,  i.e.,  building  and  living  in  their  homes  the 
same  way  as  they  did  forty  or  fifty  years  ago, 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO        245 

they  can  get  along  without  the  white  man's  way. 
It  is  true,  they  have  their  wagons  to  repair,  etc., 
but  why  should  they  consult  a  blacksmith  when 
baling- wire  can  be  found  all  over  the  State?  This 
is,  to  say  the  least,  our  friend's  "first  aid."  Why 
should  he  consult  a  carpenter  to  build  him  a 
house  with  lumber,  lath  and  plaster,  when  a 
hogan  can  be  built  with  poles  cut  within,  in  most 
cases,  less  than  one  thousand  feet  from  the  pros 
pective  home,  and  where  Mother  Earth,  upon 
which  his  home  is  built,  does  very  nicely  for 
plastering  without?  The  lumber  must  be  bought 
and  hauled  at  least  from  a  Government  saw-mill, 
of  which  there  are  perhaps  three  or  four  on  the 
whole  reservation,  or  must  be  bought  from 
neighboring  cities.  Why,  then,  not  live  the  old 
way,  which  is  better  (?)  Let  me  say,  however, 
for  your  encouragement,  that  when  conditions 
are  favorable,  "kins"  or  small  houses  are  being 
erected,  evidently  due  to  white  influence,  and 
these  homes  are  supplied  in  a  crude  way  with 
the  white  man's  furniture.  But  as  long  as  the 
majority  are  in  favor  of  the  old  way  of  living, 
the  specialist  will  find  very  little  use  for  his 
trade.  Then,  my  friends,  can  you  imagine  a  re 
turned  student,  who  has  mastered  the  painter's 
trade,  going  home  to  apply  the  brush  to  the  mud- 
covered  hogan! 

More  general,  systematic  training — why?  To 
gradually  prepare  the  way  for  the  experts.  This 
work  is  not  one  of  a  few  years ;  it  is  one  of  a  life- 


246          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

time.  Not  of  one  generation,  but  of  two  or 
three.  First  we  must  make  them  dissatisfied 
with  their  present  mode  of  living  by  teaching 
and  suggesting  better  things. 

In  connection  with  this  general  training,  econ 
omy  should  have  a  prominent  place.  By  a  gen 
eral  training  we  mean  that  every  boy  who  leaves 
this  school  should  be  able  to  do  his  own  prac 
tical  carpenter  work  and  those  ordinary  repair 
jobs  which  are  found  on  any  farm,  or  about  any 
home.  He  should  be  taught  certain  things  about 
the  soil  and  to  keep  it  up,  the  use  of  fertilizers, 
legumes,  crop  rotation,  etc.,  so  that  should  he 
be  able  to  get  hold  of  a  piece  of  soil,  that  under 
normal  conditions  receives  moisture  enough  to 
raise  crops,  he  may  be  able  to  take  care  of  the 
same.  Then,  also,  he  should  be  taught  that  it  is 
cheaper  to  keep  a  good  animal,  be  it  sheep,  goat, 
cow  or  horse,  than  a  scrub;  and  so  we  could 
enumerate.  The  girls  also  must  be  taught  good 
housekeeping,  cooking,  sewing,  nursing  and 
home  economy. 

We  once  more  wish  to  emphasize  economy, 
because  our  Navaho  friends  do  not  know  what  it 
is  to  be  saving.  They  know  what  poverty  is,  for 
they  live  from  hand  to  mouth.  There  are  very 
few  who  have  any  money  at  all,  and  should  they 
be  the  happy  possessors  of  some  today,  tomor 
row  it  is  all  gone.  They  have  either  spent  it  for 
luxuries  and  what  little  clothing  they  need,  or 
redeemed  a  pawned  saddle,  blanket  or  a  string 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         247 

of  beads  which  has  been  in  pawn  long  before 
they  knew  where  the  money  was  to  come  from 
to  redeem  it.  They  like  to  borrow,  but  to  pay 
back  is  like  pulling  teeth.  If  you  wish  to  get  rid 
of  a  Navaho,  loan  him  fifty  cents. 

Talking  about  owing  reminds  me  of  an  inci 
dent  which  befell  us  a  few  years  ago.  We  had 
on  the  place  an  old  wagon,  known  as  the  Chintee 
(the  devil's)  wagon,  so-called  because  dead 
people  had  been  carried  in  it.  It  stood  around  a 
long  while.  Finally  an  Indian  came  who  wanted 
to  buy  the  same.  The  moderate  price  of  five 
dollars  was  argued  by  the  Indian,  who  said  he 
would  bring  two  sheep  for  the  same.  Sheep  at 
that  time  were  worth  about  $2.50  to  $3.00  per 
head.  I  told  him  he  could  pay  in  mutton,  but  if 
the  two  would  not  pay  for  the  wagon,  he  was  to 
pay  the  difference.  If  there  was  more  I  was  to 
pay  him.  When  the  mutton  was  weighed  there 
was  $4.80  worth,  so  I  frankly  told  him  he  owed 
us  the  difference.  Now  I  did  not  wish  to  get  rid 
of  this  man,  but  the  result  was  that  he  did  not 
show  up  on  the  Mission  grounds  for  three  years. 
Finally  he  came,  asking  to  bring  wood.  Having 
made  a  bargain,  and  upon  settlement,  I  asked 
him  if  he  remembered  the  twenty  cents  he  owed 
us  for  the  wagon.  He  said,  "Yes,"  and  smiled; 
upon  which  we  deducted  the  amount,  and  now 
he  comes  whenever  he  has  occasion  to  call. 

How  shall  we  carry  out  such  a  program  at  our 
School?  Let  me  say  that  we  have  been  working 


248          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

toward  this  for  some  time.  The  girls,  especially, 
have  received  a  training  on  the  above  order. 
Each  girl  is  detailed  for  three  months  to  the  dif 
ferent  departments,  e.  g.,  the  sewing-room,  dor 
mitory,  kitchen,  laundry,  and  hospital.  The 
smaller  boys  are  also  detailed  to  some  of  the 
above  places,  but  when  they  are  old  enough  to 
do  the  heavier  work,  they  do  not  shift  in  detail, 
since  there  are  no  various  departments  like  for 
the  girls.  The  boys  are  instructed  by  the  Man 
ager  and  his  assistants  as  best  they  can,  but  at 
best  it  is  not  what  it  should  be  because  time  is 
lacking.  One  of  these  assistants  does  the  team 
work  about  the  place  with  the  help  of  boys. 
The  other  assistant  does  the  general  repair  work 
with  a  detail  of  boys,  and  they  get  out  of  it  what 
they  pick  up,  but  the  individual  instruction  is 
oftentimes  lacking  because  time  will  not  permit, 
and  the  Manager  is  kept  busy  to  keep  the  ball 
rolling.  We  should  have  at  least  another  man 
added  to  our  force  of  men,  who  is  a  carpenter 
and  capable  of  instructing  therein,  as  well  as 
teaching  the  boys  in  repair  work  of  whatever 
nature. 

Now,  then,  what  shall  we  do  in  case  we  have  a 
boy  who  takes  a  special  liking  to  a  certain  trade? 
I  would  say  with  all  my  heart,  "Give  him  a 
chance."  If  we  cannot  supply  the  needed  edu 
cation,  send  him  to  a  school  that  can,  or  let  him 
do  apprentice  work  with  a  capable  instructor. 
When  he  returns  as  a  graduate  he  may  not  be 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        249 

able  to  do  anything  with  his  trade  at  home,  but 
if  his  heart  is  in  that  work,  he  will  follow  it 
where  he  can,  and  should  he  marry  an  educated 
girl,  he  can  gain  a  livelihood  for  both  and  be  an 
influence  for  the  civilizing  of  the  Navaho  tribe. 

Leaving  the  present  enrollment,  one  hundred, 
as  it  is,  it  would  not  be  wise  for  us  to  attempt  to 
specialize  in  the  different  trades,  since  it  would 
be  too  expensive,  and,  as  I  mentioned  before,  I 
think  for  the  present  more  good  can  be  done  by 
giving  a  general  education  in  vocational  training. 
Too  expensive,  because  our  School  is  limited  to 
the  hundred  mark.  To  enlarge  means  to  change 
the  scope  of  the  whole  School.  It  would  not  be 
wise  to  hire  a  blacksmith  to  teach  a  class  of  two. 
Nor  would  it  be  wise  to  entail  proportionately 
larger  expenses  for  a  few  pupils,  when  ten  or 
twelve  could  be  instructed  more  economically. 

May  the  Lord  grant  that  the  instruction  given 
at  this  School  may  tend  for  an  eternal  blessing 
for  the  Navaho  Tribe. 


250          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

XIII. 

THE  NAVAHO  RELIGION 

A  MONG  ALL  the  different  subjects,  upon 
*"*  which  we  were  called  to  gather  information 
for  this  book,  we  found  none  quite  so  difficult  as 
that  of,  "The  Navaho  Religion."  The  difficulty 
lay  not  in  a  scarcity  of  material,  for  there  are 
pages  and  pages  to  be  read  upon  this  matter.  But 
the  difficulty,  for  one  not  able  to  obtain  first 
hand  information  thru  personal  observation  and 
conversation,  lay  in  the  sifting  of  the  material 
and  the  selecting  of  that  which  would  not  only 
prove  suitable  for  our  purpose,  but  also  convey 
the  truth  and  give  some  kind  of  an  adequate  con 
ception  of  the  subject.  We  met  with  contradic 
tions  between  authors  who  we  presumed  wrote 
with  authority,  how  were  we  to  know  which  was 
right?  Indeed,  we  were  in  a  quandary  to  know 
just  what  to  do  about  this,  when  our  Missionary, 
the  Rev.  L.  P.  Brink,  offered  to  write  on  this 
subject  for  us.  He,  who  has  been  on  the  Navaho 
Reservation  practically  since  1900,  who  has  been 
engaged  in  the  work  of  translating  the  Holy 
Scriptures  into  the  Navaho  tongue,  who  has 
learned  to  understand  and  speak  the  Navaho  so 
well  that  he  has  been  called,  "The  white  man 
that  talks  like  an  Indian,"  who  has  made  a  spe 
cial  study  of  the  Navaho  Myths,  Ceremonies,  and 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO        251 

Religion,  he,  we  admit,  is  the  logical  man  to  en 
lighten  us  on  this  subject. 

A  stranger  coming  among  the  Navahoes  and 
abiding  with  them  for  a  short  time,  sees  so  little 
that  reminds  him  of  religion  and  hears  less  that 
reveals  any  particular  religious  views  or  concep 
tions,  that  some  have  gone  away  testifying  that 
here  was  a  tribe  without  any  religion.  That  view 
has  been  accepted  by  many  and  held  for  a  long 
time.  But  now,  when  you  have  read  the  follow 
ing  article,  you  will  see  how  mistaken  these 
people  were.  Instead  of  being  a  tribe  without 
any  special  religious  views  and  conceptions,  they 
are  a  people  with  such  complicated  views  that  it 
is  a  most  difficult  matter  for  a  white  man  to  get 
any  adequate  conception  of  them.  And  still, 
who  of  us  does  not  realize  that  a  knowledge  of 
these  religious  views  is  first  of  all  of  the  highest 
importance  and  value  to  any  one  called  to  labor 
among  the  Navahoes  in  the  Gospel?  And  in  the 
second  place  this  knowledge  is  also  highly  valu 
able  to  all  who  are  interested  in  sending  the  Gos 
pel  to  these  benighted  ones.  With  the  conviction 
that  the  reading  of  the  following  will  give  you 
to  realize  better  than  ever  before  the  great  need 
of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  those  still  in  dark 
ness  and  superstition,  we  pray  that  you  read  it 
most  carefully. 


252          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

THE  RELIGIOUS  VIEWS  OF  THE  NAVAHOES 

REV.  L.  P.  BRINK,  Toadlena,  N.  M. 

IT  WILL  NOT  be  possible  to  do  justice  to  this 
*•  large  subject  in  a  short  article;  the  best  we 
can  do  under  the  circumstances  is  to  present  it 
in  brief  and  fragmentary  form,  contenting  our 
selves  with  giving  a  bare  outline.  The  study  of 
the  religions  of  the  American  Indians  presents  a 
very  wide  and  very  rich  field  for  students  who 
delight  in  ethnology  and  related  subjects. 

We  cannot  properly  speak  of  the  religion  of 
the  American  Indians,  any  more  than  we  can 
properly  speak  of  the  language  of  these  people 
as  though  it  were  one,  because  the  American  In 
dians  are  not  one  nation,  but  many  nations, 
speaking  not  one  language,  but  many  languages, 
and  believing  not  one  religion,  but  many  relig 
ions.  The  fact  that  Navaho  and  Zuni  cannot  un 
derstand  each  other's  language,  any  more  than 
we  can  understand  Chinese  or  any  other  tongue 
that  is  absolutely  unrelated  to  ours,  is  not  un 
derstood  by  many,  but  it  certainly  is  a  fact. 

It  requires  study  and  research,  both  patient 
and  prolonged,  to  obtain  knowledge  of  the  re 
ligion  of  the  Navahoes;  the  remarks  on  this  sub 
ject  which  we  present  in  this  paper,  have  been 
culled  during  the  past  twenty  years  of  our  ex 
perience  as  a  missionary. 

Navahoes  ordinarily  do  not  speak  of  their  re 
ligion  to  outsiders,  and  as  long  as  even  a  mis- 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        253 

sionary  is  considered  an  outsider,  he  will  gain 
little  information  along  these  lines. 

Broadly  speaking,  the  Navaho  religion  is  poly 
theistic;  they  believe  in  a  multitude  of  super 
natural  beings,  some  of  higher  and  some  of  lower 
order,  and  also  that  some  of  them  are  the  bene 
factors  of  mankind,  and  others  are  quite  the  op 
posite.  Some  of  their  gods  are  deifications  of 
men,  animals,  and  other  creatures;  others  are 
personifications  of  qualities  or  occurrences,  and 
some  cannot  be  subsumed  under  either  of  these 
heads. 

The  Navaho  name  for  supernatural  beings  of 
all  kinds  is  diyini,  a  word  corresponding  to  our 
word  "holy  ones,"  except  that  the  term  with  them 
is  devoid  of  moral  content.  The  name  of  divine 
beings  of  the  beneficent  kind  is  yay-ih,  and  of 
those  that  are  inimical  to  mankind  is  ana-yay; 
the  word  ana  being  the  same  as  enemy.  Those 
occupying  high  rank  among  the  yay-ih  are  called 
Hast-yay. 

The  sources  of  our  information  are  varied; 
men  like  Dr.  Washington  Matthews  and  James 
Stevenson  have  made  very  careful  study  of  the 
Navaho  religion  in  some  of  its  phases,  and  have 
left  to  us  the  results  of  their  research  in  writings; 
and  personally  we  have  been  in  contact  with  the 
Indians  themselves,  and  with  a  number  of  the 
best-informed  men  of  the  tribe,  including  many 
prominent  medicine  men;  and  we  have  attended 
many  of  the  sings  and  ceremonies,  both  great  and 


254          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

small,  and  gathered  information  at  first  hand 
wherever  an  opportunity  presented  itself;  the  re 
sults  have  been  very  informing  and  exceedingly 
useful  in  comparing  their  religion  with  the 
Christian  religion,  and  finding  points  of  agree 
ment  and  of  disagreement  with  the  sure  word  of 
revelation. 

The  Navaho  Indians  have  many  great  rites  or 
ceremonies,  and  also  lesser  rites.  The  great  cere 
monies  are  usually  of  nine  days'  duration. 
Among  these,  the  ceremony  known  as  the  Night 
Chant,  takes  a  very  prominent  place;  another  of 
high  rank  is  the  Mountain  Chant,  or  mountain 
ceremony.  Each  of  these  ceremonies  has  its 
story,  which  is  steeped  in  legend  and  mythology. 
These  stories  are  the  chief  sources  of  our  knowl 
edge  of  the  religious  conceptions  of  the 
Navahoes. 

Among  the  yay-ih  a  very  prominent  place  is 
taken  by  a  being  named  Hast-yay-yalh-ti;  liter 
ally  the  speaking  or  talking  God;  he  is  also  called 
Yay-bit-chai,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  the 
gods.  The  story  of  his  dealings  with  mankind, 
as  told  in  the  legends,  would  fill  quite  a  volume; 
and  a  number  of  them  would  not  reflect  much 
credit  to  himself. 

Another  prominent  figure  among  the  gods  is 
Hast-yay-o-gahnt;  people  who  understand  less 
Navaho  than  I  can,  tell  you  what  this  name 
means.  Dr.  Matthews  says  it  means  House-god, 
but  I  am  certain  that  that  is  not  what  it  means; 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO        255 

he  writes  it  hogan  instead  of  ogahnt;  besides  I 
have  failed  to  find  a  single  instance  where  he 
has  anything  to  do  with  a  hogan  or  house,  or 
where  he  is  honored  and  recognized  as  a  House- 
god.  In  many  of  the  legends  he  is  accorded  the 
place  of  chief  of  the  gods. 

Another  yay-ih  of  great  importance  is  To-neh- 
nilli,  the  water-sprinkler,  or,  as  we  might  say, 
the  God  of  rain.  In  the  ceremonies  he  is  usually 
represented  as  a  clown,  playing  all  kinds  of  an 
tics,  and  in  this  he  might  well  represent  the  ac 
tion  of  rains  in  this  desert  land,  where  it  hardly 
ever  rains,  but  when  it  does  rain,  it  pours. 

As  fourth  in  this  series  we  may  name  Hast- 
yay-zhinni,  the  Black  God,  also  known  as  the 
God  of  fire;  he  is  always  represented  as  carry 
ing  a  fire-drill,  such  as  the  Indians  used  to  have 
before  the  use  of  matches  became  common,  and 
it  is  assumed  that  his  fire-drill  will  penetrate  the 
most  impenetrable.  These  four  gods  are  sup 
posed  to  correspond  with  the  four  sacred  colors, 
namely,  white,  yellow,  blue,  and  black;  and  they 
are  referred  to  as  White  Body,  Yellow  Body, 
Blue  Body,  and  Black  Body,  respectively.  In  the 
case  of  the  latter  two,  the  correspondence  be 
tween  these  colors  and  their  position  and  char 
acter  is  readily  seen,  blue  corresponding  with 
rain  and  black  with  fire. 

The  home  of  the  Gods  is  in  the  mountains; 
their  capitol,  if  we  may  call  it  so,  is  in  the  rock- 
walls  of  Chinlee  Canyon,  though  many  other 


256          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

places  are  also  indicated  as  their  homes,  and 
often  the  impression  is  made  that  there  are  gods 
of  the  same  name  at  many  different  places,  all 
regarded  as  sacred  places  by  the  Navahoes. 

A  place  of  prominence  is  also  given  to  the 
Spirit-god  or  Wind-god,  who,  considered  by  his 
actions,  may  be  regarded  as  the  God  of  life.  In 
what  is  related  of  him,  there  is  much  that  cor 
responds  to  the  Spirit  of  God  in  Holy  Writ. 
There  are  also  a  number  of  lesser  deities,  wind 
or  spirit  people,  even  such  as  are  called  little 
wind  people,  or  Breeze-people,  who  communi 
cate  with  humans  whose  ears  are  attuned  to  re 
ceive  their  message. 

The  gods  above  mentioned  are  the  creators  of 
the  human  race,  or  to  be  more  exact,  of  the  First 
Man  and  the  First  Woman,  from  whom  the  hu 
man  race  is  descended.  The  creation  of  man  is 
presented  thus :  The  divine  beings  above  named 
formed  a  circle  upon  earth,  a  number  of  lesser 
deities  being  with  them.  One  of  the  gods  laid  a 
buckskin  in  the  middle  of  the  circle,  another  laid 
two  ears  of  corn,  one  white  and  one  yellow,  upon 
the  buckskin,  another  laid  a  couple  of  eagle 
feathers  upon  the  ears  of  corn,  and  another  cov 
ered  this  pile  with  a  buckskin,  the  Wind-god 
circled  around  these  buckskins  and  blew  around 
and  under  them,  and  erelong  the  eagle  feathers 
were  seen  to  move,  after  a  while  one  of  the  gods 
stepped  up  and  took  away  the  upper  buckskin, 
and  lo  and  behold,  the  white  ear  of  corn  had 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         257 

become  a  man  and  the  yellow  one  a  woman,  and 
the  eagle  feathers  had  become  hair  on  their 
heads. 

They  were  bidden  to  live  together  as  man  and 
wife,  and  they  did  so  and  became  the  progeni 
tors  of  the  Navaho  race. 

First  Man  has  been  raised  to  the  rank  of  the 
gods;  in  one  of  the  legends  he  is  represented  as 
making  drawings  upon  the  sand,  arranging  the 
stars  upon  the  ground  the  way  he  wanted  them 
to  be  set  in  the  sky;  he  had  the  Great  Dipper  all 
laid  out  in  form,  the  Orion  properly  propor 
tioned  and  a  few  of  the  other  combinations  of 
stars,  when  the  Evil  Genius,  Coyote,  came  along, 
looked  at  the  drawings,  finished  and  unfinished, 
and  by  blowing  a  great  breath  upon  them,  trans 
ferred  them  all  to  the  sky.  The  stars  mentioned 
landed  there  in  proper  form,  but  the  others  were 
scattered  all  over  the  heavens  as  they  are  now. 

A  place  of  prominence  is  also  given  to  the  Sun 
God  or  Sun  Bearer,  as  he  is  called,  and  to  the 
Moon  Bearer.  The  legends  concerning  them  are 
interesting,  but  would  require  too  much  space 
here. 

Two  female  divinities  also  hold  high  rank  in 
the  Navaho  religion;  they  are  Astsanatlehi  and 
Yolhkai-astsan.  In  English,  the  Changing  Wo 
man  and  the  White  Shell  Woman.  Both  of  these 
wrere  young  maidens  upon  the  earth,  and  were 
visited  on  the  sly  by  the  Sungod  at  night,  and 
became  the  mothers  of  the  two  great  Heroes  or 


258          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Demigods  of  the  Navahoes,  Nayenezganni,  the 
Slayer  of  the  Alien  Gods,  and  Tobadzizchinni, 
"Born  to  the  Water." 

These  boys  grew  up  without  knowing  their 
father,  because  their  mothers  would  not  tell 
them  who  their  father  was,  but  in  some  mys 
terious  ways  they  found  out  and  made  a  trip 
to  the  home  of  the  Sungod,  and  before  they  left 
his  home  they  were  invested  with  powers  to 
destroy  Monsters  who  wrere  making  a  prey  of  the 
Navaho  people. 

Chief  among  these  monsters  was  one  called 
Giant,  who  lived  near  Mount  Taylor.  His  chief 
amusement  was  catching  people  and  eating 
them.  With  lightning  supplied  them  by  the 
Sungod,  these  boys  killed  him,  and  cut  off  his 
head.  His  blood  flowed  in  a  big  stream  like  a 
river  and  hardened  and  became  petrified,  and 
if  today  you  should  visit  the  country  near  Mount 
Taylor  between  Laguna  and  Grants  along  the 
Santa  Fe  Railroad,  you  will  see  there  enormous 
lava  beds,  these  were  once  the  blood  of  the 
Monster  called  Giant,  killed  by  the  Demigods. 
And  should  you  travel  east  of  the  Reservation 
and  come  near  the  Mexican  town  Cabezon  (pro 
nounced  Cab-e-zone),  you  will  find  there  a 
mountain  of  black  rock,  shaped  like  a  human 
head,  this  is  the  head  of  the  Monster  Giant,  slain 
by  the  Demigods,  and  should  you  travel  on  the 
Reservation  anywhere  and  come  across  a  piece 
of  petrified  wood,  here  you  have  a  piece  of  one 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO        259 

of  the  bones  of  the  Monster  Giant,  who  once 
made  havoc  with  the  Navaho  race. 

These  Heroes  slew  many  more  monsters  that 
preyed  upon  the  Navaho  race,  but  according  to 
Navaho  legends  there  are  still  Monsters  left,  who 
were  not  destroyed,  such  as  Hunger,  Thirst, 
Pain,  Old  Age,  Death,  these  are  still  raging  and 
claiming  victims  from  this  people. 

And  according  to  our  way  of  looking  at  these 
things,  there  is  still  the  Parent  Monster,  the 
Source  and  Origin  of  all  Evil,  Sin,  from  whose 
stranglehold  only  the  great  Redeemer  of  Man, 
Jesus  Christ,  can  save  them. 

The  Navahoes  treat  with  superstitious  regard 
many  animals,  birds,  and  reptiles,  such  as  bears, 
coyotes,  owls,  bats,  snakes,  though  these  beliefs 
are  being  greatly  undermined  of  late  years,  and 
the  younger  people  do  not  share  all  of  the  super 
stitions  of  the  older  generation. 

The  Navaho  gods  are  represented  in  visible 
form  by  sand-paintings,  elaborate  drawings 
made  on  the  clear  sand  of  the  floor  of  a  medi 
cine  lodge,  the  materials  used  are  ground  red 
sandstone,  white  ashes,  ground  black  charcoal, 
all  of  these  in  powder  form,  and  the  painting 
is  very  carefully  done  by  the  medicine  man,  as 
he  lets  these  powders  glide  from  between  his 
thumb  and  forefinger.  A  complete  sand-paint 
ing  requires  the  work  of  days  by  the  medicine 
man  and  his  assistants. 

They  are  also  represented  in  the  ceremonies 


260          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

by  living  men  and  women  wearing  masks  and 
garments  such  as  the  gods  are  supposed  to  wear, 
and  the  dancer  wearing  these  is  supposed  to 
personify  the  god  his  garments  represent,  to 
such  an  extent  that  even  the  prayers  of  the  sick 
are  addressed  to  him. 

Prayers  form  a  very  important  part  of  their 
religion,  and  these  are  mostly  stereotyped  forms, 
always  repeated  in  the  same  way. 

Offerings  are  made  to  the  gods,  usually  in  the 
form  of  cigarettes,  cut  and  painted  in  shape  and 
color  appropriate  to  the  god  worshipped.  They 
have  songs  and  prayers  for  all  occasions,  for  al 
most  every  circumstance  of  life ;  they  are  always 
trying  to  find  religious  significance  in  every 
thing  that  varies  from  the  ordinary;  and  a  very 
common  fault  they  find  with  Americans  with 
whom  they  come  in  contact  is  that  they  have  no 
reverence. 

The  Light  of  the  Word  of  God  is  penetrating 
their  world  of  darkness  and  superstition.  I  want 
to  close  this  article  by  (quoting  what  I  heard  a 
Christian  Navaho  say  in  preaching. 

"This  world  in  which  we  live  is  like  a  great 
book  which  is  full  of  letters  that  talk  to  us  of 
God,  our  Maker.  Here  is  the  great  mountain 
standing  before  us  in  his  greatness,  and  saying 
to  us  as  it  were,  'God  made  me.'  Here  is  the 
great  pine-tree,  with  its  branching  arms,  and  he 
says,  'God  made  me.'  Here  are  the  rocks,  and 
they  say,  'God  made  me.'  The  animals,  bear, 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        261 

coyote,  horse,  cow,  sheep,  cat,  dog,  all  kinds  of 
creatures,  and  each  one  of  them  says  'God  made 
me.'  And  that  is  the  way  the  whole  world,  both 
earth  and  heaven  above,  from  the  tiniest  crea 
ture  in  them  to  the  mightiest,  talk  to  us  as  it 
were  with  one  voice,  and  we  hear  them  saying, 
each  and  every  one  in  accord,  'God  made  me'." 
Behold  in  these  words,  my  readers,  the  first- 
fruits  of  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  dawn 
ing  of  the  new  day  in  which  the  Navahoes  shall 
know  the  only  True  and  Living  God,  and  our 
Blessed  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ. 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO        263 

XIV. 
THE  ZUNIES 

HTHE  ZUNIES  are  a  Pueblo  tribe,  residing  in 
*-  one  permanent  pueblo  or  village  known  by 
the  same  name,  Zuni,  and  located  on  the  north 
ern  bank  of  what  is  called  the  Zuni  River.  In 
the  summer,  however,  they  also  inhabit  the  three 
neighboring  farming  villages  of  Pescado,  Nu 
tria,  and  Ojo  Caliente.  Their  tribal  name  is 
A'shiwi  (singular,  Shi'wi),  meaning  "the  flesh." 
The  name  of  their  tribal  range  is  given  as 
Shi'wona,  or  Shi'winakwin,  which,  according  to 
Gushing,  a  man  who  may  surely  be  considered 
an  authority  on  things  Zunian,  means  "the  land 
that  produces  flesh."  Their  common  name,  Zuni, 
is  supposed  by  many  to  be  a  Spanish  adaptation 
of  the  Keresan  Sunyitsi  or  Sunyitsa  of  unknown 
meaning,  but  often  erroneously  considered  to  be 
connected  with  "the  people  of  long  finger-nails." 

The  history  of  the  white  man's  knowledge  of 
this  people  is  in  many  respects  very  interesting. 
To  get  an  anyway  clear  outline  and  conception 
of  it,  we  must  start  with  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  who 
had  been  treasurer  of  the  ill-fated  expedition  of 
Panfilo  de  Narvaez  to  that  part  of  our  United 
States  which  is  now  included  in  the  State  of 
Florida.  As  we  know  from  history,  this  expe 
dition  was  a  total  failure,  and  none  but  Cabeza 


264          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

de  Vaca  and  three  companions  escaped.  Realiz 
ing  that  his  only  hope  of  safety  lay  in  reaching 
the  settlements  of  his  countrymen  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Continent,  he  and  his  companions 
started  on  that  first  transcontinental  journey 
over  the  plains  and  mountain  ranges  of  North 
American  territory.  They  were  imprisoned  by 
tribe  after  tribe,  sometimes  abused  as  slaves  and 
then  again  revered  and  almost  worshipped  as 
those  possessing  some  shamanistic  powers.  To 
escape  each  new  emergency  and  keep  on  push 
ing  Westward,  called  for  the  exercising  of  almost 
superhuman  craft  and  cunning.  What  tongue 
of  man  is  able  to  tell,  and  where  is  there  a  pen  of 
man  able  to  describe  in  any  way,  the  impatience, 
the  heart-hunger,  the  agony  of  despair  of  these 
four  men  during  those  nine  long  years  of  en 
deavor?  For  let  us  not  forget,  it  was  no  less 
than  nine  years  from  the  destruction  of  Nar- 
vaez's  ships  until  the  day  de  Vaca  and  his 
wretched  companions  arrived  at  Culiacan.  They 
were  looked  upon  as  men  raised  from  the  dead, 
and  their  stories  were,  of  course,  listened  to  with 
rapt  attention.  Undoubtedly  every  one  sympa 
thized  with  them  in  the  woes  and  hardships  they 
had  endured,  but  the  part  of  their  story  which 
elicited  the  greatest  interest,  and  awakened  the 
desires  and  ambitions  to  the  highest  pitch  was 
when  they  told  of  cities  that  had  been  described 
to  them  as  lying  to  the  north  of  the  path  they 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         265 

were  following,  and  therefore  too  far  out  of  the 
way  for  them  to  visit. 

At  once  the  Spaniards  believed  that  these  were 
the  long-dreamed-of  "Cities  of  Quivera,"  and  the 
first  to  set  out  in  order  to  visit  these  cities  and 
gain  definite  knowledge  and  real  information 
concerning  these  people  and  their  cities,  was 
Fray  Marcos  of  Niza.  He  started  on  this  perilous 
journey  in  1539,  accompanied  by  a  negro  named 
Estevanico,  one  of  the  companions  of  Gabeza  de 
Vaca,  spoken  of  above.  This  negro  and  some 
Indian  guides  were  sent  on  ahead  by  the  Friar 
to  prepare  the  various  tribes,  thru  whose  coun 
try  they  had  to  pass,  for  his  coming,  and  also  to 
report  on  the  prospects  of  the  country.  This 
negro  carried  a  bell,  which  he  rang  continuously, 
thus  causing  the  Indians  not  only  to  gather 
around  him  out  of  curiosity,  but  also  out  of  blind 
superstition  to  look  upon  him  as  a  being  from  a 
different  and  higher  world.  This  honor  and  rev 
erence  was  too  much  for  Estevanico ;  he  became 
more  and  more  exacting  and  cruel,  and  conse 
quently  by  the  time  he  had  reached  the  cities 
sought  for,  the  natives  were  filled  with  fear.  And 
out  of  fear  for  him  as  well  as  for  him  wrhose 
coming  he  announced,  the  negro  and  some  of  his 
Indian  companions  were  killed.  The  report  of 
this  massacre  was  brought  by  some  of  the  In 
dian  guides  that  escaped  to  Fray  Marcos,  who 
had  pursued  his  way  into  the  present  State  of 
Arizona.  After  placating  his  Indian  followers* 


266          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

who  threatened  to  kill  him,  the  Friar  again 
pressed  on,  viewing  the  first  of  the  seven  cities 
of  Cibola  from  an 'adjacent  height.  Having  seen 
the  "Kingdom  of  Cibola,"  as  Moses  of  old  sawr 
the  Promised  Land  from  the  heights  of  Nebo, 
Fray  Marcos  returned  to  report  on  his  findings. 
He  represented  this  "Kingdom,"  from  what  he 
had  heard  from  the  Indians  along  the  route,  as  a 
rich  and  very  populous  province  containing 
seven  cities  of  which  Hawrikuh  (see  Rev.  Fry- 
ling's  article),  was  the  principal  one.  His  glow 
ing  accounts  led  to  the  fitting  out  of  an  expedi 
tion  the  next  year,  1540,  under  the  gallant  and 
brave  Francisco  Vasques  Coronado.  It  was  in 
the  month  of  February  that  this  expedition  set 
forth,  with  great  pomp,  circumstance,  and  blare 
of  trumpet.  After  a  strenuous  and  arduous  jour 
ney,  pregnant  with  both  thrilling  and  harassing 
experiences,  Cibola  was  reached  on  the  7th  of 
July.  Then  it  was  that  Coronado  experienced 
what  he  thus  expressed  in  words,  "The  friar  hath 
told  everything  about  Cibola  but  the  truth."  In 
stead  of  finding  seven  cities,  populous,  strong, 
and  rich  in  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones,  they 
found,  according  to  Castaneda,  the  historian  of 
the  expedition  (translation  by  Winship)  :  "A 
little,  unattractive  village  looking  as  if  it  had 
been  crumpled  all  up  together.  There  are  man 
sions  in  New  Spain  which  make  a  better  appear 
ance  at  a  distance.  It  is  a  village  of  about  200 
warriors,  is  three  and  four  stories  high,  with  the 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         267 

houses  small  and  having  only  a  few  rooms,  and 
without  a  courtyard.  One  yard  serves  for  each 
section.  The  people  of  the  whole  district  had 
collected  here,  for  there  are  seven  villages  in  the 
province,  and  some  of  the  others  are  even  larger 
and  stronger  than  Cibola.  These  folks  waited 
for  the  army,  drawn  up  by  divisions  in  front  of 
the  village.  When  they  refused  to  have  peace 
on  the  terms  the  interpreters  extended  to  them, 
but  appeared  defiant,  the  Santiago  was  given, 
and  they  were  at  once  put  to  flight.  The  Span 
iards  then  attacked  the  village,  which  was  taken 
with  not  a  little  difficulty,  since  they  held  the 
narrow  and  crooked  entrance.  During  the  at 
tack  they  knocked  the  general  down  with  a  large 
stone,  and  would  have  killed  him  but  for  Don 
Garcia  Lopez  de  Cardenas  and  Hernando  de  Al- 
varado,  who  threw  themselves  above  him  and 
drew  him  away,  receiving  the  blows  of  the 
stones,  which  were  not  a  few.  But  the  first  fury 
of  the  .Spaniards  could  not  be  resisted,  and  ID 
less  than  an  hour  they  entered  the  village  and 
captured  it.  They  discovered  food  there,  which 
was  the  thing  they  were  most  in  need  of." 

In  this  way  the  world  received  its  first  true 
knowledge  of  Zuni  and  its  most  interesting 
people.  It  remained,  however,  for  men  like 
Lieut.  F.  H.  Gushing  to  make  an  exhaustive  study 
of  their  mode  of  life  and  thought.  In  1879  he 
was  sent  by  Major  Powell,  Director  of  the  U.  S. 
Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  to  live  among 


268          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

them  and  thus  gain  the  aforesaid  knowledge 
first-hand,  thru  personal  contact  and  observa 
tion.  In  1883-1884  Lieut.  Gushing  published  the 
first  articles  on  the  Zunies,  and  they  certainly 
aroused  the  interest  of  the  whole  English-speak 
ing  and  civilized  world.  Since  that  time  many 
other  scientific  investigators  have  carried  and 
are  still  carrying  on  research  work  in  this  region. 
Today  our  knowledge  of  Zuni  and  its  people  is 
fairly  accurate. 

After  all  that  has  been  said  in  the  above  Chap 
ters,  the  location  of  the  persent  Zuni  village  or 
pueblo  must  be  known  to  us.  We  have  given 
you  the  expression  of  the  impression  made  by 
the  first  Zuni  village  upon  a  Spanish  historian  in 
1540,  allow  us  now  to  give  you  a  description  of 
the  present  Zuni  village  by  an  author  known  for 
his  wonderfully  beautiful  descriptions  of  South 
western  places  and  scenes,  George  Wharton 
James.  "Yonder  is  Zuni.  Imagine  a  lot  of  low, 
squat,  square,  or  oblong,  flat-roofed  houses  of 
adobe,  leading  the  eye  from  the  left  to  the  main 
part  of  the  town,  where  they  are  connected  one 
with  another,  in  rows  and  squares  and  streets, 
piled  up  one  above  another,  receding  in  front 
and  on  both  sides  as  they  ascend  higher,  so  that 
they  form  a  series  of  terraces  on  three  sides,  the 
topmost  houses  being  perched  six  stories  high, 
and  you  have  a  crude  idea  of  the  architecture  of 
Zuni.  Now  add  to  this  the  poles  of  the  ladders, 
thrust  out  from  numberless  hatchways,  the 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         269 

quaint  chimneys,  made  of  pottery  ollas,  or  water 
jars,  the  bottoms  broken  out,  piled  one  above  an 
other,  the  quaint  stairways  between  the  stories 
and  on  dividing-walls,  the  open-air  bee-hive-like 
ovens,  the  strings  of  chili-pepper  pods,  glistening 
brilliant  red  in  the  sunshine,  the  piles  of  firewood 
stacked  on  the  housetops,  the  patient  burros 
standing  hobbled  in  the  streets,  or  slowly  moving 
to  and  fro  in  search  of  scraps,  the  little  figures 
of  naked  boys  and  girls — bronze  cupids  as  one 
has  appropriately  called  them — romping  about 
and  playing  hilariously,  as  children  of  the  sun- 
loving  races  always  do,  and  you  have  a  fair  gen 
eral  impression  of  what  Zuni  is  to  the  casual 
observer." 

In  this  village  and  in  this  people  we  are  at 
present  particularly  interested,  and  we  desire  to 
know  more  about  them. 

The  Zuni  men  are  in  general  not  tall,  being  on 
an  average  about  five  and  a  half  feet,  but  they 
are  solidly  built  and  have  the  appearance  and 
carriage  of  athletes.  The  Zuni  women  are  even 
smaller  than  the  men,  and  as  long  as  they  are 
young  they  are  not  given  to  be  corpulent,  but  as 
soon  as  they  grow  older  they  also  become  more 
stout.  In  general  they  are  fairly  good-looking, 
having  shapely  arms,  hands  and  feet,  laughing 
and  tender  brown  or  black  eyes,  and  as  to  their 
disposition,  they  are  kind  and  affectionate, 
motherly  and  compassionate,  loyal  and  helpful. 

The  man's  dress  is  usually  of  white  calico,  and 


270          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

consists  of  a  kind  of  shirt  or  jacket  and  a  pair  of 
trousers  that  are  slit  from  the  knee  down.  He 
wears  blue  stockings,  held  up  by  beautifully 
woven  garters,  vividly  scarlet,  while  his  feet  are 
covered  with  thick-soled  buckskin  moccasins, 
and  around  his  forehead  is  tied  a  handkerchief 
which  serves  as  his  head-dress.  The  majority 
of  the  men  today,  however,  have  discarded  the 
native  dress  for  American  clothes.  The  women's 
dress  is  really  picturesque.  The  gown  is  made 
of  one  piece  (that  of  the  Navaho  of  two  pieces), 
generally  woven  by  the  men,  and  is  of  black  diag 
onal  cloth,  embroidered  in  blue  at  the  top  and 
bottom.  This  gown  usually  reaches  well  down 
to  the  knees,  while  a  long  belt  of  bright  red  or 
blue  color  and  with  fringed  ends,  is  wrapped 
around  the  waist  several  times,  and  as  the  end 
is  tucked  under  and  the  fringe  falls,  it  adds  a 
very  attractive  and  picturesque  touch  to  the 
whole  garment.  An  indispensable  article  of  at 
tire  for  the  Zuni  woman,  indeed  without  which 
she  does  not  consider  herself  dressed,  but  seem 
ingly  useless  to  the  white  man,  is  what  is  called 
the  Bi'toni,  usually  a  piece  of  calico,  but  some 
times  simply  made  of  two  large  or  blue  bandana 
handkerchiefs  sewed  together.  It  is  tied  in 
front  of  the  neck  and  is  allowed  to  fall  over  the 
shoulders,  hanging  on  the  back.  The  legs  from 
the  knees  down,  visible  below  the  gown,  are 
wrapped  around  and  around  with  wide  pieces 
of  buckskin,  giving  them  a  very  heavy  and  ex- 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        271 

ceedingly  clumsy  appearance,  though  they  set 
off  the  smallness  of  the  feet,  which,  even  as 
those  of  the  men,  are  clothed  in  buckskin 
moccasins. 

The  personal  ornaments  of  both  men  and 
women  consist  of  several  strings  or  necklaces 
of  shell  or  silver  beads,  and  between  the  beads 
are  found  pieces  of  turquoise.  Bracelets  and 
rings  are  also  worn,  and  earrings  especially  by 
the  men.  Leather  belts,  with  silver  disks, 
chased  or  engraved  into  certain  curious  and 
striking  designs,  which  are  worn  around  the 
waist,  are  also  highly  prized  and  greatly  appre 
ciated  by  the  Zuni  men.  The  men  allow  their 
hair  to  grow  rather  long,  and  being  kept  back 
from  hanging  in  front  of  the  face  by  the  hand 
kerchief  tied  around  the  forehead,  it  is  allowed 
to  hang  loose  and  down  the  back  of  their  heads. 
The  hair  of  the  woman  is  banged  all  around, 
down  almost  to  the  shoulders,  and  then  tucked 
up  in  front  under  the  forehead  to  allow  the  face 
to  appear.  None  dress  their  own  hair.  Women 
comb  the  men's  hair  and  one  another's,  unless 
a  lover  or  a  bridegroom,  greatly  enamored  of 
his  bride,  sometimes  plays  the  part  of  a  hair 
dresser.  One  of  the  favorite  pastimes  is  to  sit 
outside  the  house  and  search  in  the  hair  for 
vermin,  and  as  each  one  is  found  the  hair-dresser 
cracks  it  between  her  teeth  with  genuine  satis 
faction.  The  vermin  are  not  eaten,  as  has  been 
sometimes  stated,  but  they  are  thrown  from  the 


272          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

mouth.  The  front  of  the  hair  is  allowed,  when 
the  woman  is  outside,  to  fall  in  heavy  bangs  over 
the  forehead,  while  the  back  hair  is  carefully 
brushed.  A  bunch  of  broom-corn,  tied  about 
four  inches  from  the  cut  ends,  serves  a  double 
purpose,  the  longer  portion  being  the  broom,  the 
shorter  the  hair  brush.  We  have  been  informed 
that  the  women  wear  their  bangs  for  the  same 
reason  that  Turkish  women  wear  their  veils  to 
cover  their  faces.  The  Zuni  says,  "It  is  not  well 
for  a  woman's  face  to  be  exposed  to  the  gaze  of 
men." 

The  Zuni  parents  also  love  their  children,  and 
are  very  indulgent  and  kind  to  them.  In  com 
parison  with  some  other  tribes,  the  number  of 
children  is  also  large.  And  when  one  enters  the 
village,  he  sees  among  the  dogs  and  donkeys,  and 
pigs  upon  the  streets,  many  children  of  all  sizes 
and  of  both  sexes,  but  all  alike  healthy,  happy, 
vigorous,  and  naked  until  they  reach  the  age  of 
six  or  seven.  Living  today  as  they  have  lived 
for  centuries  in  their  own  village,  not  inter 
marrying  with  other  tribes,  these  Zunies  have 
assuredly  retained  a  strong  individuality,  and 
are  therefore  easily  distinguished  from  neigh 
boring  Indian  tribes. 

They  are  of  a  friendly  disposition  and  not 
sullen  as  the  Navaho.  When  you  meet  them 
they  give  you  a  greeting  and  advance  to  shake 
hands,  and  generally  ask  a  few  questions  to  sat 
isfy  their  curiosity.  To  strangers  they  are  also 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        273 

hospitable,  and  although  they  may  not  invite 
you,  they  expect  you  to  call  on  them  during  your 
stay  in  their  midst.  They  appreciate  it  greatly, 
and  it  makes  them  happy  if  you,  upon  your  visit, 
will  accept  their  food  and  eat  with  them.  The 
floor,  of  course,  serves  as  the  table,  and  a  sheep 
skin  for  a  chair,  and  you  are  expected  to  use 
your  fingers  to  eat  with.  If  in  season,  you  will 
most  likely  be  served  with  green  corn  or  a  mush 
of  ground  green  corn,  flavored  with  certain  wild 
herbs.  Another  dish,  often  served,  is  a  kind  of 
mutton  stew,  consisting  of  small  cubes  of  mut 
ton,  squash,  beans,  corn,  and  chili-pepper; 
which  latter  they  use  very  much  in  their  dishes, 
probably  having  learned  that  from  the  Mexi 
cans.  Coffee  is  also  served,  sometimes  with 
white  man's  sugar  to  sweeten  it.  Naturally  the 
canned  fruits,  etc.,  displayed  by  the  traders, 
are  also  finding  their  way  more  and  more  to  the 
Zuni  table. 

There  is  one  article  of  food,  peculiar  to  the 
Zunies,  and  considered  by  them  to  be  a  very 
special  delicacy.  It  is  called  hewe,  or  paper 
bread.  Upon  one  of  our  visits  to  Zuni  we  were 
privileged  to  watch  an  old  mother  engaged  in 
making  this  bread.  Of  cornmeal,  very  finely 
ground,  a  very  soft  batter  is  made.  A  large  flat 
stone  is  raised  so  that  a  fire  can  be  built  under 
neath  it.  When  this  stone  is  finally  hot  enough, 
the  7ieit>e-maker  dips  her  hand  in  the  batter  and 
rapidly  spreads  it  over  the  hot  surface  of  the 


274          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

stone,  and  almost  instantly  the  batter  cooks  into 
a  very  thin,  paper-like  sheet,  which  is  then  pulled 
off  and  piled  up  until  a  great  number  of  sheets 
have  been  prepared.  It  is  very  palatable  to  the 
taste,  but  we  cannot  say  that  we  were  very  fond 
of  it,  especially  after  watching  the  preparing  and 
making  of  it. 

As  we  have  noticed  in  preceding  Chapters,  the 
,  Navahoes  are  known  for  their  blankets,  the  cov 
eted  treasure  of  every  white  woman.  The  Zunies, 
however,  are  not  known  for  their  blankets,  al 
though  they  do  weave  some  for  their  own  use, 
nor  are  they  known  particularly  for  their  pot 
tery,  although  they  make  and  bake  quite  a  little 
of  it.  The  following  description  is  given  of  pot 
tery-making  as  it  may  be  seen  among  the  Zunies 
even  today.  First,  however,  we  should  listen  to 
Mrs.  Stevenson,  one  of  the  experts  of  the  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  as  she  tells  about  the 
care  with  which  the  reverent  Zuni  woman 
gathers  the  clay  for  her  work.  "On  passing  a 
stone-heap,  she  picked  up  a  small  stone  in  her 
left  hand,  spitting  upon  it,  carried  the  hand 
around  her  head  and  threw  the  stone  over  one 
shoulder  upon  the  stone-heap  in  order  that  her 
strength  might  not  go  from  her  when  carrying 
the  heavy  load  down  the  mesa.  She  then  visited 
the  shrine  at  the  base  of  the  mother  rock,  and 
tearing  off  a  bit  of  her  blanket,  deposited  it  in 
one  of  the  tiny  pits  in  the  rock  as  an  offering  to 
the  mother  rock.  When  she  drew  near  to  the 


IN       HOGAN       AND      PUEBLO        275 

clay-bed,  she  indicated  to  Mr.  Stevenson  that  he 
must  remain  behind,  as  men  never  approached 
the  spot.  Proceeding  a  short  distance,  the  party 
reached  a  point  where  We'wha  requested  me  to 
to  remain  perfectly  quiet  and  not  talk,  saying, 
'Should  we  talk,  my  pottery  would  crack  in  the 
baking,  and  unless  I  pray  constantly,  the  clay 
will  not  appear  to  me.'  She  applied  the  hoe  vig 
orously  to  the  hard  soil,  all  the  while  murmur 
ing  prayers  to  Mother  Earth.  Nine-tenths  of  the 
clay  was  rejected,  every  lump  being  tested  be 
tween  the  fingers  as  to  its  texture.  After  gather 
ing  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  in  a  blan 
ket,  which  she  carried  on  her  back,  with  the  ends 
of  the  blanket  tied  around  her  forehead,  We'wha 
descended  the  steep  mesa,  apparently  uncon 
scious  of  the  weight."  Now  for  the  pottery-mak 
ing  itself:  "The  Zuni  woman  having  gathered 
the  clay  from  two  or  three  different  localities, 
mixes  it,  for  it  is  found  that  certain  mixed  clays 
are  much  better  than  any  one  of  them  taken 
alone.  After  being  well  washed  and  puddled, 
the  potter  takes  a  small  piece  of  the  now  pre 
pared  clay  and  rolls  it  out  between  her  hands 
into  a  long  'rope.'  This  is  now  coiled  around  a 
center,  and  thus  the  base  of  her  jar  or  olla  is 
formed,  pressing  and  pinching  one  coil  into  or 
upon  the  other  until  they  cohere,  and  then 
smoothing  them  out  with  a  spatula  made  of 
bone  or  perhaps  of  a  dried  piece  of  melon  or 
gourd  rind.  Rapidly  and  surely,  coil  upon  coil 


276          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

is  added.  With  nothing  but  her  eye  to  direct 
her,  and  with  no  tool  but  the  spatula  and  her 
own  hand,  the  neck  of  the  jar  is  shaped.  For  a 
day  or  two  it  is  set  in  the  sun  to  dry,  and  while 
in  this  brittle  state  it  is  also  painted  and  deco 
rated.  The  most  fascinating  part  of  the  whole 
work  for  the  Zuni  woman  is  this  painting  of  the 
designs.  What  do  they  mean  and  what  do  they 
symbolize?  It  certainly  would  be  interesting  to 
know  all  this.  Some  designs  are  drawn  from 
nature  and  undoubtedly  symbolize  the  germina 
tion  and  development  of  life.  These  are  more 
or  less  easily  understood,  the  tadpole  or  polli- 
wog,  and  frog.  Other  designs  seem  to  be  drawn 
only  from  the  imagination  of  the  potter.  There 
is  no  copy,  no  drawing,  no  sketch,  but  it  simply 
lives  in  her  busy  and  imaginative  brain.  Some 
times  it  is  a  conventionalized  butterfly,  or  deer, 
or  the  symbolic  thunder-bird,  while  rain,  cloud, 
and  water  symbols  are  also  very  frequent.  A 
great  variety  of  geometrical  designs  are  also 
used.  Her  paints  are  drawn  from  the  clays,  and 
under  the  influence  of  heat  have  been  turned 
into  reds,  yellows,  and  browns.  For  paint 
brushes  she  uses  the  yucca  fiber  and  needles. 
With  the  jar  on  her  knees,  she  places  each  stroke 
deftly  and  determinately  until  the  decoration  is 
finished.  Now,  when  dry,  the  jar  or  whatever 
she  has  made  and  painted,  is  ready  for  firing. 
The  kiln  is  built  out-of-doors,  free  from  the 
wind,  and  then  an  oven  of  dried  manure  from 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO        277 

the  sheep  and  goat  pens  is  made  around  and 
over  it.  The  fire  is  lighted  and  skillfully  man 
aged,  so  that  the  heat  gradually  increases  and 
finally  is  kept  as  intense  as  possible  for  an  hour 
or  so,  when  it  is  allowed  to  die  down,  and  when 
quite  cooled,  the  pottery  is  removed.  A  bit  of 
paper-bread  is  placed  in  each  pot  when  it  is 
fired,  in  order  to  feed  the  spirit  of  the  vase.  It 
is  believed,  that  if  a  woman,  about  to  bear  a 
child,  should  look  at  the  pottery  before  it  is 
fired,  it  will  come  from  the  oven  with  a  black 
spot  upon  it." 

As  may  be  gleaned  from  the  foregoing,  the 
Zuni  pueblo  in  many  respects  resembles  a  great 
bee-hive.  The  houses  are  built,  as  we  have  al 
ready  seen,  one  upon  another,  the  roof  of  one 
forming  the  floor  or  yard  of  the  next  one  above, 
and  thus  in  some  cases  four  or  five  tiers  of  dwell 
ings  have  been  erected,  hoxvever,  two  stories  is 
the  usual  height,  very  few  are  built  higher  than 
that.  Among  the  Zunies  as  among  the  civilized 
peoples,  riches  and  official  position  confer  im 
portance  and  significance  upon  the  possessor. 
The  rich  live  in  the  lower  houses ;  those  of  more 
modest  means  in  the  next  above;  while  the 
poorer  families  as  a  rule  content  themselves 
with  the  uppermost  stories.  These  houses,  which 
are  built  of  stone  and  adobe  (sun-dried  bricks 
composed  of  earth  and  straw  molded  in  wooden 
forms),  are  clustered  about  three  plazas,  or 
squares,  and  a  fourth  plaza  is  on  the  western 


278          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

side  of  the  village.  There  are  three  covered 
ways,  and  several  streets.  Strange  to  say,  the 
women  delight  in  house-building,  especially  in 
plastering  them  inside  and  out.  Once  a  year 
they  are  engaged,  to  their  delight  and  pleasure, 
in  plastering  the  outside  of  the  adobe  Mission 
buildings.  They  consider  this  their  special  pre 
rogative,  and  would  consider  it  an  infringement 
upon  their  rights  if  the  men  were  to  do  it.  Men 
lay  the  stone  foundations,  build  the  walls,  and 
place  large  logs,  which  serve  as  beams  to  sup 
port  the  roof,  which  is  made  of  willow  boughs 
spread  over  with  brush,  and  then  the  whole  cov 
ered  with  earth.  As  Egyptian  women  of  old,  so 
the  little  Zuni  girls  trudge  to  and  from  the 
river  with  their  water  vases  on  their  heads 
bringing  the  water  for  mixing  the  mortar. 

Though  some  of  these  Zuni  houses  have  as 
many  as  eight  rooms,  the  ordinary  one  has  from 
four  to  six,  and  a  few  have  only  two.  Ledges 
built  with  the  house,  extend  around  the  rooms, 
forming  seats  and  shelves.  The  largest  room  is 
for  general  living  purposes;  here  the  entire  fam 
ily  works,  eats,  and  sleeps,  and  here  the  guests 
are  also  entertained.  Whenever  this  room  is 
required  for  the  use  of  some  fraternity,  the  fam 
ily,  taking  all  its  belongings,  moves  to  other 
quarters.  Very  simple  indeed  -are  the  sleeping 
arrangements,  for  in  one  corner  of  the  big  liv 
ing-room  hangs  a  big  pole,  suspended  by  thongs 
of  rawhide  at  each  end.  Poetically  this  is  termed.. 


N 


280          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

"the  pole  of  the  soft  stuff."  The  term,  "sof t  stuff" 
includes  sheep-  and  goatskins,  together  with  the 
robes  the  Zunies  themselves  weave  or  which  they 
have  purchased  from  the  Navahoes.  The  more 
valuable  things,  as  the  ceremonial  parapher 
nalia,  are  carefully  wrapped  and  deposited  in 
the  storage  rooms. 

As  a  rule,  you  will  also  find  in  this  living-room 
the  mills  that  are  set  up  for  grinding  meal. 
These  mills  consist  of  three  or  more  slabs  of 
stone,  of  different  degrees  of  fineness  of  grain, 
set  side  by  side  at  an  angle  of  about  45°, 
and  separated  by  upright  slabs,  the  whole  sur 
rounded  by  other  slabs,  making  an  enclosure  for 
each  mill.  On  these  mills  the  corn  and  grain  is 
ground  by  the  women  and  girls,  calling  for  an 
exercise  not  unlike  the  washing  of  clothes  on 
an  old-fashioned  wash-board.  While  the  bangs 
of  the  women  flop  back  and  forth  when  engaged 
in  this  work,  the  perspiration  caused  by  the 
strenuous  exercise  and  the  vermin  loosing  their 
grip,  often  falling  in  the  meal  as  it  is  being 
ground,  and  this  very  naturally  has  an  influence 
upon  the  white  man's  appetite  when  he  breaks 
bread  with  his  Zuni  neighbors. 

Nearly  all  the  rooms  of  a  Zuni  house  are  pro 
vided  with  a  fireplace.  A  commodious  mantel 
usually  extends  over  a  part  of  the  fireplace,  and 
on  it  rests  the  masonry  chimney  reaching  up 
thru  the  roof,  while  the  exterior  chimney  is 
composed  of  old  pottery  vases  with  perforated 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        28i 

bottoms.  Today  the  influences  of  our  civiliza 
tion,  as  it  is  represented  by  the  Missionaries, 
traders,  and  Government  employees,  are  begin 
ning  to  be  seen  in  many  Zuni  homes.  There  are 
sewing  machines  upon  which  the  women  have 
been  taught  to  sew,  cook  stoves  or  ranges  are 
also  found  here  and  there,  even  modern  iron 
bedsteads  and  chairs  are  in  a  few  places.  Lamps, 
regular  gasoline  lamps,  are  being  used  for  light, 
and  many,  many  other  things  equally  useful 
and  convenient  to  the  betterment  of  the  enjoy 
ment  of  life  are  being  introduced  all  the  time. 

The  home-life  of  the  Zunies,  as  Rev.  Fryling 
also  mentions  in  his  article,  is  entirely  different 
than  that  of  the  Navaho,  whom  the  Zuni  looks 
upon  as  an  enemy.  Here,  in  Zuni,  the  husband 
lives  with  his  wife's  folks  and  it  is  a  very  com 
mon  thing  to  find  several  families  living  under 
the  same  roof.  In  general,  the  Zunies  do  not 
have  large  families,  but  the  members  are  deeply 
attached  to  one  another.  It  is  indeed  a  distinct 
pleasure,  in  the  early  evening,  to  pay  a  visit  to 
the  living-room,  before  the  elders  have  been 
called  away  to  the  fraternities  or  elsewhere.  The 
Zuni  children  are  scarcely  ever  disobedient,  and 
can  play  together  the  livelong  day  without  a 
quarrel.  The  boys  and  girls  do  not  play  together 
very  often.  In  fact,  the  girls  seem  to  have  little 
time  for  play.  They  must  care  for  the  little 
ones,  whom  they  carry  on  their  backs,  often  tot 
tering  under  the  weight.  When  free  from  this 


282          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

care  they  imitate  all  that  the  mother  does.  They 
make  pottery,  weave  belts,  and  especially  bake 
bread. 

Games  and  impromptu  dances  are  among  the 
favorite  pastimes  of  the  young  men.  The  dog 
dance,  in  which  the  performer  picks  money  and 
silver  buttons  from  the  ground  with  his  mouth, 
always  draws  a  large  audience  and  leads  to  con 
siderable  betting.  The  older  girls  do  not  go 
about  the  village  unattended,  and  espe 
cially  after  dark  they  are  not  safe.  Really  the 
only  place  they  are  free  to  visit  alone  is  the  well, 
"the  town  pump."  Here  in  the  evening  there 
may  sometimes  be  found  a  youth  waiting  for  an 
opportunity  to  speak  a  word  to  the  pretty  girls, 
and,  of  course,  to  some  special  one,  if  his  affec 
tions  have  already  been  settled.  It  is  a  mistake 
that  Zuni  girls  make  advances  to  the  men.  Their 
love-making  is  little  different  than  among  our 
own  youths  and  maidens. 

The  Zunies  are,  as  you  perhaps  already  know, 
an  agricultural  and  pastoral  people.  The  fields 
are  not  owned  by  clans,  as  is  sometimes  sup 
posed,  but  any  one  may  cultivate  any  strip  of 
land  that  appeals  to  him,  provided  it  has  not 
already  been  appropriated,  and  once  in  his  pos 
session,  he  has  the  right  to  transfer  it  to  whom 
soever  he  pleases  within  the  tribe.  According  to 
their  law  the  landed  property  of  a  married  man 
or  woman  after  death  goes  to  the  daughters.  The 
sons  are  supposed  to  be  able  to  acquire  their 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        283 

own  fields,  but  if  there  should  be  no  girls,  then 
the  sons  are  the  next  heirs.  Horses,  cattle, 
sheep*  and  blankets  are  divided  among  the  boys 
and  the  girls  of  the  family,  and  while  the  silver 
beads  and  turquoise  earrings  of  the  mother  go 
to  the  daughters,  the  coral,  wrhite  shell  and  tur 
quoise  necklaces  and  earrings  of  the  father  go 
to  the  eldest  son.  The  little  gardens  about  the 
village,  which  are  tended  exclusively  by  the 
women,  are  inherited  by  the  daughters. 

As  will  have  been  noticed  from  the  foregoing, 
the  Zuni  as  well  as  the  Navaho  tribe  is  divided 
into  clans.  Knowledge  of  some  clans  has  been 
entirely  lost,  while  there  are  at  least  four  clans 
which  have  now  become  extinct,  and  one  clan 
since  many  years  has  been  represented  by  just 
one  man.  Besides  these,  there  are  fifteen  other 
clans.  While  descent,  as  also  with  the  Nav- 
ahoes,  is  thru  the  maternal  side,  the  offspring  is 
considered  closely  allied  to  the  father's  clan. 
Always  the  child  is  referred  to  as  belonging  to 
the  mother's  clan  and  as  being  the  "child"  of  the 
father's  clan.  As  appears  from  the  Missionary's 
article,  the  native  government  and  religion  are 
inseparably  connected.  There  is  supposed  to  be 
a  Governor  with  four  assistants  and  a  Lieuten 
ant  Governor  with  four  deputies.  The  real  Gov 
ernment,  however,  in  the  present  Zuni  village,  is 
represented  in  the  United  States  Agent,  who  re 
sides  at  Blackrock,  some  four  and  a  half  miles 
from  Zuni.  We  need  not  say  anything  about  the 


284          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

educational  facilities  and  opportunities  as  of 
fered  by  the  Government  and  Mission,  since  this 
matter  is  treated  by  Rev.  Fryling.  Just  to  re 
member  it,  we  state  here,  that  there  is  a  large 
Government  Boarding  School  at  Blackrock,  and 
a  Government  Day  School  as  also  a  Mission  Day 
School  in  the  Zuni  village. 

By  means  of  the  Government  dam  at  Black- 
rock,  built  at  a  cost  of  more  than  a  half  million 
dollars,  it  is  possible  for  the  Zuni  people  to  irri 
gate  their  whole  valley,  and  they  are  thus  en 
abled  to  raise  profitable  crops.  Near  the  corn 
fields,  muskmelons,  watermelons,  squashes,  and 
gourds  are  usually  grown.  When  these  begin  to 
ripen,  the  fields  must  be  continually  guarded, 
and  for  this  purpose  rude  shelters  are  erected 
where  the  owners  can  stay  over  night.  In  addi 
tion  to  the  human  thieves,  the  country  is  so  in 
fested  with  ravens  that  the  Zunies  have  become 
experts  in  the  construction  of  scarecrows.  Many 
of  the  Zunies  leave  the  village  and  rather  com 
fortable  houses  and  live  in  one  of  the  three 
farming  places  mentioned  at  the  beginning  of 
this  Chapter.  Having  learned  by  experience 
what  it  means  to  be  reduced  to  starvation  and 
compelled  to  seek  help  of  neighboring  pueblos, 
the  Zunies  aim  to  keep  a  year's  supply  of  grain 
on  hand  untouched,  to  provide  against  failure 
of  crops. 

As  we  know,  among  enlightened  and  civilized 
peoples  games  are  usually  associated  with  sport 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO         285 

and  recreation,  but  with  the  Zunies  this  is  not 
so.  Their  ceremonial  games  are  for  the  bringing 
of  rain,  and  thus  they  very  naturally  constitute 
an  important  element  in  their  religious  and  so 
cial  life.  Each  game,  of  course,  has  its  regula 
tions  and  limitations.  The  betting  race,  which 
wre  once  witnessed  while  on  a  visit  to  Zuni,  is 
one  in  which  a  distance  of  about  twenty-five 
miles  is  covered.  Each  leader  of  a  team  that  en 
ters  this  race  places  a  stick,  somewhat  larger 
than  one's  middle  finger,  across  his  foot  near  the 
toes  and  sprinkles  it  with  meal;  they  then  cry 
out  Si  (ready).  This  stick  may  not  be  touched 
with  the  hand  after  it  is  once  placed  on  the  foot. 
It  is  often  kicked  a  long  distance,  but  no  matter 
where  it  may  rest,  it  must  be  managed  with  the 
foot.  To  the  Zunies  there  is  only  one  thing  more 
exciting  than  this  race,  and  that  is  the  so-called 
scalp-dance.  Those  on  horseback  must  urge 
their  ponies  onward  to  keep  pace  with  the 
racers.  On  the  outcome  of  this  race  everything 
is  wagered  from  a  silver  button  to  a  fine  blan 
ket.  All  these  things  are  placed  in  two  stacks 
and  kept  in  the  large  plaza.  The  women  are  not 
permitted  to  mingle  with  the  men,  but  are  to  be 
seen  in  groups  on  the  house  tops,  just  as  much 
interested  in  the  affair  as  the  men. 

There  is  still  one  more  thing  that  we  must 
speak  of  concerning  the  Zunies  before  we  take 
up  a  brief  special  study  of  their  customs,  leg 
ends,  and  superstitions,  and  that  is  their  religion. 


286          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Just  recently  we  found  an  article  on  this  subject, 
"The  Religion  of  the  Zuni,"  in  the  Bugle,  the  An- 
nuary  of  Grundy  Center  College,  by  the  pen  of 
Mr.  J.  J.  Fryling,  son  of  our  Zuni  Missionary. 
We  quote  the  following  from  this  article: 

"The  Zuni's  conception  of  the  deity  is  far  different 
from  that  of  any  other  people  of  the  world.  They  serve 
the  creature  instead  of  the  Creator,  they  believe  the  sun 
to  be  the  father  of  the  gods,  the  moon  the  mother,  and 
the  stars  their  children.  Before  sunrise,  and  just  before 
sunset,  the  holy  Sun-priest  sprinkles  a  pinch  of  holy  meal 
from  his  valet  on  the  ground,  murmuring  a  low,  weird 
prayer.  This  is,  undoubtedly,  the  most  obligatory  duty 
which  is  performed  by  this  priest.  Besides  this,  he  is 
often  seen  praying  in  the  bed  of  the  Zuni  River,  and  al 
ways,  when  his  prayer  is  ended,  sprinkling  that  pinch  of 
holy  meal  upon  the  ground  before  him. 

"Three  or  four  times  a  year  all  the  members  of  the 
Zuni  tribe  go  into  the  mountains,  and  plant  their  prayer- 
plumes.  This  sacred  duty  of  the  Zuni  is  always  carried 
out  most  religiously.  There  are  about  nine  or  ten  holy 
shrines  near  their  pueblo,  and  every  now  and  then  the 
different  priests  go  there  to  worship.  It  is  important  to 
notice  the  seriousness  and  reverence  which  each  and  every 
member  shows  in  his  worship.  This,  however,  does  not 
seem  to  impose  upon  them  any  moral  laws.  He  may  be 
sincere  in  his  faith,  devout  and  punctilious  in  his  religious 
duties,  and  still  may  not  hold  moral  rectitude  as  an  active 
and  a  living  principle. 

Another,  both  interesting  and  important,  factor  in  the 
religious  orders  of  the  Zuni  is  their  sacred  dance.  There 
are  a  great  number  of  different  kinds,  but  I  shall  give  a 
brief  description  of  only  two  of  the  more  interesting 
types— the  Rain  Dance  and  the  'Kolawusse."  The 
'Kokoa'  or  the  Rain  Dance,  is  an  order  that  dresses  up  in 
a  strange  costume,  and  which  represent  the  gods  of  rain. 


IN       HOGAN       AND      PUEBLO        287 

Before  entering  the  pueblo,  on  their  journey  from  the 
hills,  they  pray  at  the  holy  shrine  of  'Hepatina,'  beseech 
ing  the  gods,  whom  they  represent,  to  grant  them  their 
desire  by  answering  prayers  and  songs.  While  entering 
the  pueblo  they  pass  by  different  members  of  the  tribe, 
who  sprinkle  holy  meal  upon  their  heads,  a  form  of  honor 
and  respect.  Meanwhile  they  utter  a  short  prayer  of 
humiliation  and  devotion.  Then  they  pass  together  into 
the  holy  plaza,  where  they  perform  their  religious  duties. 
There  the  people  go  to  worship  and  to  attend  the  dance. 
That  is  the  place  where  they  become  re-inspired  in  their 
heathen  belief,  and  sometimes  approach  the  lowest  stages 
of  barbarism  and  beastly  lusts.  (Things  have  occurred 
at  these  dances,  we  have  been  told,  which  modesty  simply 
forbids  even  as  much  as  to  mention. — J.  D.). 

"The  'Kolawusae'  festival,  a  very  unique  form  of  wor 
ship,  takes  place  every  four  years.  The  word  signifies  a 
great  sea  monster.  A  representation  of  this  beast  is  made 
and  carried  around  by  six  members  of  the  clan.  All  the 
members  of  the  Zuni  tribe  worship  this  great  beast.  The 
priest,  as  in  other  religious  performances,  again  sprinkles 
a  pinch  of  holy  meal  upon  its  head.  There  is  a  great 
amount  of  mythology  connected  with  the  'Kolawusae.' 
The  Zuni  believes  that  during  the  time  of  a  great  flood, 
this  beast  swam  thru  a  holy  arch  in  a  large  mountain  near 
the  present  pueblo  of  the  Zuni.  Growing  out  of  the  ef 
fort  of  primitive  man  to  account  for  the  natural  phe 
nomena  surrounding  him,  the  myth  of  the  'Kolawusse' 
varies  as  to  detail  with  almost  every  tribe.  The  wide  cir 
culation  of  this  myth  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  mon 
ster  figures  prominently,  in  the  mythology  of  both  the 
roving  and  the  pueblo  tribes.  With  some  groups  it  is  pic 
tured  as  a  mighty  bird,  dwelling  in  the  mountain  cliffs 
with  kindred  spirits,  and  sallying  forth  at  intervals,  caus 
ing  blessings  upon  the  dry  fields  with  abundant  showers 
of  fresh  rain,  which  means  rich  grass  for  their  herds,  and 
full  granaries.  Hence  it  is  a  deity  embodying  all  things 


288          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

beneficial  to  mankind;  its  presence,  a  constant  augury  of 
peace  and  happiness;  its  painted  image  on  the  rocks  and 
in  the  estufas,  an  enduring  talisman  of  good  fortune. 
The  glazed  mineral  paints,  and  the  clear-cut  sculptures  of 
the  prehistoric  artists,  made  by  the  people  of  one  of  the 
more  prominent  tribes,  have  remained  bright  and  distinct, 
and  today  those  figures  on  the  red  cliffs  are  accepted  as  a 
conventional  design  of  this  universal  Indian  deity. 

"Their  religion  has  taught  loyalty  and  respect  to  their 
gods,  but  has  fostered  a  willful  individualism.  It  has 
made  social  life  lower;  its  virtues  are  stoical;  it  makes 
life  barren  and  empty;  it  makes  religion  a  submission  to 
a  few  infinite  despots.  Is  it  not  our  duty  to  bring  to 
people  of  this  type,  at  home  and  abroad,  the  true  Gospel, 
so  that  they  also  may  know  what  the  spark  of  human 
existence  may  mean  for  them  now  and  for  the  time  to 
come? 

"Long  years  of  earnest  toil  may  be  spent,  but  can  never 
be  wasted,  for  success  usually  comes  at  last,  after  weary 
years  of  disappointment.  For  the  religion  of  the  Zuni  is 
as  a  great  tree,  which  seems  still  solid  and  firm,  but  has 
been  secretly  decaying  within  and  is  hollow  at  heart;  at 
last  it  falls,  speedily,  filling  the  forest  with  the  echo  of  its 
ruin.  Again,  it  is  like  a  dam  which  seems  strong  enough 
to  resist  the  torrent  of  true  faith,  but  has  been  slowly 
undermined  by  a  thousand  minute  rills  of  water,  and  at 
last  it  is  suddenly  swept  away,  and  opens  a  yawning 
breach  for  the  tumbling  cataract,  so  that  the  waters  of 
Christianity  may  flow  smoothly  on  to  their  final  goal. 
Hence,  in  order  to  attain  this  end,  let  us  trample  beneath 
our  feet  the  viper  of  heathendom,  and  raise  high  in  its 
place  the  banner  of  the  Cross." 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO        289 
A.     CUSTOMS 

TT  IS  AS  TRUE  of  the  Zunies  as  of  other  Indian 
1  tribes,  there  are  many  and  various  customs 
which  are  still  being  observed  by  the  older 
people,  but  which  are  gradually  being  discarded 
by  those  educated  in  the  white  man's  schools. 
These  educated  young  people  are  ashamed  of 
these  customs  just  as  they  are  of  many  of  the 
religious  rites  and  ceremonies.  If  they  observe 
them  at  all,  it  is  not  because  they  believe  in 
them  or  attach  any  value  to  them,  but  it  is  done 
out  of  fear  of  being  ostracized  and  thus  becom 
ing  an  outcast.  The  life  of  those  that  are  thus 
cast  out  is  anything  but  pleasant.  One  con 
fessed  to  us  once,  upon  a  visit  to  Zuni,  that  he 
wished  he  might  die,  for  his  life  was  simply  full 
of  trouble,  and  there  was  no  pleasure  in  it.  Now 
the  customs  that  we  would  say  a  word  about  at 
this  time  are  those  which  are  observed  at  nativ 
ity,  marirage,  and  death. 

If  parents,  looking  forward  to  the  coming  of 
an  addition  to  the  family,  desire  a  daughter, 
then  the  husband  and  wife,  frequently  accom 
panied  by  a  doctress  or  a  female  relative,  visit 
what  is  called  the  Mother-rock  on  the  west  side 
of  Towa-yallanne  (corn  mountain).  The  base 
of  this  rock  is  covered  with  symbols  of  the  asha 
(vulva),  and  is  perforated  with  small  excava 
tions.  The  woman,  expecting  soon  to  become  a 
mother,  scrapes  a  small  quantity  of  the  rock 


290          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

into  a  tiny  vase  made  for  the  purpose,  and  de 
posits  it  in  one  of  the  cavities  in  the  rock  and 
prayer  is  offered  by  all  present  that  the  daugh 
ter  may  grow  to  be  good,  beautiful,  and  preserve 
all  virtues,  and  that  she  may  be  able  to  weave 
beautifully  and  be  skilled  in  the  art  of  making 
pottery.  If  a  son  is  desired,  the  party  visits  a 
shrine  higher  up  the  side  of  the  mountain,  in  a 
fissure  in  the  same  rock,  and  sprinkle  meal  and 
deposit  A'likinawe,  with  prayers  that  a  son  may 
be  born  to  them  and  that  he  may  become  dis 
tinguished  in  war,  and  after  death  be  great 
among  the  ancestral  gods.  Should  these  prayers 
at  the  shrines  not  be  answered  as  desired,  then 
it  is  because  the  heart  of  one  or  both  of  the 
couple  was  not  good.  There  are  still  other 
shrines  which  are  visited  for  this  purpose. 

Physicians  who  serve  among  the  Indians,  can 
tell  of  many  and  varied  experiences  in  regard  to 
child-birth.  Mrs.  Stevenson  in  her  records  of 
life  among  the  Zunies,  speaks  of  the  following 
experience:  "An  expectant  mother,  while  at 
her  farm  at  Oje  Caliente,  became  alarmed  at  the 
retarded  action  of  the  fetus,  and  she  and  her 
husband  returned  to  Zuni  to  consult  Nai'uchi, 
at  that  time  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  highly 
respected  theurgists  among  the  Zunies.  On 
learning  that  the  woman  had  been  drinking 
from  the  sacred  spring  of  the  Ko'loowisi 
(Plumed  Serpent),  he  declared  that  she  was  not 
carrying  a  child,  but  a  serpent.  The  following 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         291 

day  the  husband  came  to  the  writer  in  great  dis 
tress  and  begged  her  to  go  to  his  wife,  who  was 
in  such  a  wretched  mental  state,  that  he  feared 
she  would  die.  After  examining  the  abdomen, 
the  writer  declared  that  Nai-uchi  was  mistaken, 
but  his  words  had  sunk  deep  into  the  sufferer's 
mind,  and  hours  were  spent  with  the  distracted 
woman  before  she  was  convinced  that  her  doc 
tor  was  in  error.  After  several  days  a  slight 
color  took  the  place  of  the  death-like  pallor  of 
the  woman,  and  she  slowly  improved,  but  it  was 
many  days  before  she  was  like  herself  again.  In 
less  than  six  weeks  from  that  time  a  healthy 
boy  was  born.  The  writer  named  the  child  at 
the  request  of  the  mother,  but  the  nickname  of 
little  Ko'loowisi  will  cling  to  him  for  many  a 
day.  The  gratitude  of  the  husband  was  very 
marked  and  was  shown  in  every  way  possible. 
Each  week  the  best  products  of  his  fields  and 
garden  were  brought  to  her  from  his  farm,  fif 
teen  miles  away." 

When  a  birth  ha.s  taken  place,  one  of  the  at 
tendant  doctresses  makes  two  warm  beds  of 
heated  sand,  one  for  the  mother  and  one  for  the 
new-born  child,  and  while  this  is  going  on,  the 
mother  bites  upon  a  white  stone  in  order  that 
the  child's  teeth  may  be  strong  and  white.  Two 
ears  of  corn  are  presented  by  the  mother-in-law; 
a  single  ear,  called  the  father,  is  used  for  a  boy; 
a  divided  one,  called  the  mother,  is  placed  by  a 
girl.  The  doctress,  who  has  received  the  child 


292          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

into  the  world,  deposits  a  basket  of  prayer-meal 
at  the  head  of  the  child's  sand-bed,  and  offers 
a  long  prayer  to  A'wona  wilona  (the  supreme 
power)  for  long  life  and  health  to  the  child. 
Although  the  Zunies  believe  that  the  span  of  life 
is  determined  at  the  time  of  birth,  this  does  not 
keep  them  from  incessant  prayer  for  health  and 
long  life.  After  prayer,  the  doctress  sprinkles 
a  line  of  meal  from  east  to  west  over  the  sand- 
bed  to  symbolize  the  straight  path  the  child  must 
follow  in  order  to  receive  the  blessings  of 
A'wona  wilona  and  the  Sun  Father. v  Now  the 
mother  is  looked  after;  having  taken  her  seat 
upon  the  sand-bed  prepared  for  her,  a  bowl  of 
mutton-stew,  a  basket  of  mush,  boiled  in  corn 
husks,  and  a  basket  tray  of  paper  bread  is  de 
posited  on  the  floor  beside  her.  All  of  those 
present  join  in  the  meal,  but  generally  none  eat 
with  more  relish  than  the  new  mother.  At  the 
first  peep  of  the  sun  on  the  morning  following 
the  birth,  the  doctress,  having  been  supplied 
with  a  vase  of  warm  water,  a  gourd,  and  a  bas 
ket  of  ashes,  proceeds  to  bathe  the  infant.  Dip 
ping  a  gourd  of  water,  she  fills  her  mouth,  and 
pouring  the  water  from  her  mouth  over  the  head 
of  the  child,  washes  its  face  and  head,  rubbing 
quite  vigorously,  after  which  ashes  are  rubbed 
over  the  face,  a  quantity  of  which  usually  ad 
heres  to  the  skin.  After  the  head,  the  whole 
body  is  bathed  and  rubbed  over  with  ashes  and 
wrapped  in  a  blanket,  a  present  of  the  maternal 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         293 

grandmother.  Six  days  after  the  birth,  at  the 
first  light  of  day,  a  line  of  meal,  symbolic  of  the 
path  of  life,  is  sprinkled  from  the  house  to  the 
point  where  the  child  is  to  observe  for  the  first 
time  the  Sun  Father.  The  doctress,  accom 
panied  by  the  mother  and  paternal  grand 
mother,  carries  the  infant,  with  the  ear  of  corn 
which  has  been  by  its  side  since  its  birth,  held 
close  to  its  head.  The  doctress  holds  the  child 
to  face  east  while  she  offers  a  prayer  for  health 
and  happiness,  goodness  of  heart,  and  long  life. 
The  child  is  now  given  a  yucca  suds  bath  by  the 
doctress,  the  great  grandmother  and  paternal 
grandmother,  after  prayers  have  been  offered  to 
the  Sun  Father  and  the  Earth  Mother,  that  all 
blessings  may  be  granted.  Nothing  is  used  to 
dry  the  child  aside  from  the  ashes  rubbed  over 
its  entire  body.  The  children  as  soon  as  pos 
sible,  at  least  within  ten  hours  after  birth,  are 
placed  to  the  breast,  and  in  general  little  trouble 
is  experienced  in  nursing  them.  Children  of 
unmarried  girls  receive  the  same  attention  as  if 
they  had  been  born  in  wedlock,  and  no  differ 
ence  is  made  in  the  ceremonies  because  of 
illegitimate  birth. 

With  the  Zunies  marriage  generally  occurs  at 
a  very  early  age;  girls  are  not  infrequently  mar 
ried  two  years  before  reaching  puberty.  Should 
one  not  be  married  when  she  arrives  at  woman 
hood,  her  mother  goes  to  the  house  of  the  pater 
nal  grandmother  and  informs  her  of  the  fact. 


294          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

The  girl  is  made  to  labor  hard  all  day  grinding 
corn  in  the  house  of  her  grandmother;  when  she 
returns  in  the  evening  to  her  own  home,  she 
carries  a  bowl  of  meat  stew  prepared  and  pre 
sented  by  the  grandmother.  The  belief  is  that 
if  she  works  hard  at  the  dawn  of  her  woman 
hood,  she  will  not  suffer  pain  at  this  period. 

The  Zuni  marriage  ceremony  is  very  simple 
in  comparison  with  some  in  vogue  among  other 
tribes.  When  a  boy  sees  a  girl  he  desires  to 
marry,  he  manages  in  some  way  or  another  to 
meet  her  on  the  road  and  tells  her  of  his  ad 
miration  and  asks  permission  to  go  to  her 
house.  If  he  is  acceptable,  she  will  answer: 
"Wait  until  I  speak  to  my  father  and  mother." 
Later  on,  meeting  the  girl  again,  he  inquires 
what  the  father  and  mother  had  to  say.  If  they 
are  willing,  he  then  accompanies  the  girl  to  her 
home.  The  mother  asks  him  to  be  seated  and 
directs  the  daughter  to  bring  food  and  place  it 
on  the  floor  before  the  guest.  Should  she  now 
hesitate  to  obey  the  mother,  either  from  lack  of 
interest  or  from  love  of  coquetry  (for  Zuni  girls 
are  real  coquettes),  she  is  admonished  by  one 
or  both  of  the  parents.  When  she  has  brought 
the  food,  she  places  it  on  the  floor  before  her 
suitor  and  also  takes  her  seat  facing  him.  While 
he  eats  the  food  that  has  been  set  before  him, 
the  parents  of  the  girl  talk  to  him  about  the 
duties  of  a  husband  to  a  wife.  After  he  has  fin 
ished  eating,  the  father  says:  "You  are  about 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO        295 

to  marry  my  daughter.  You  must  work  hard; 
you  must  watch  the  sheep  and  help  to  cut  the 
wood  and  plant  grain  and  cut  it.  '  The  mother 
tells  him  that  he  must  be  kind  and  gentle  to  his 
wife.  He  now  remains  here  for  five  nights, 
sleeping  alone  outside  of  the  general  living- 
room  and  during  the  day  he  works  for  the  fam 
ily,  ostensibly  to  prove  his  ability  to  provide  for 
the  daughter  if  she  becomes  his  wife.  On  the 
sixth  morning  he  returns  to  his  own  home. 
They  naturally  ask,  where  he  has  been,  and 
when  told,  they  inquire  if  the  girl's  parents  are 
willing.  If  they  themselves  are  satisfied,  they 
reveal  this  by  saying:  "It  is  well."  When  the 
groom  returns  to  his  bride  from  this  visit  to  his 
home,  he  brings  her  a  dress  as  a  present  from 
his  mother.  Having  received  this  dress,  the 
bride  now  grinds  a  lot  of  corn  into  flour,  and  the 
following  day  she  carries  this  in  a  basket  on 
her  head  and  presents  it  to  her  mother-in-law, 
saying:  "Mother,  this  is  for  you."  The  mother 
says:  "Thanks,  my  child,  be  seated."  The  girl 
now  receives  bread  and  meat  of  her  mother-in- 
law,  and  before  she  leaves  the  house,  the  father- 
in-law  folds  a  deerskin  and  laying  it  before  her, 
says :  "This  is  for  your  moccasins."  The  groom 
and  bride  now  return  to  her  mother's  house, 
where  they  make  their  permanent  home. 

The  Zunies,  in  distinction  of  the  Navahoes, 
are  monogamists.  They  abhor  polygamy,  but 
rather  than  live  in  trouble  and  disharmony,  they 


296          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

separate,  and  as  a  result  divorce  is  very  com 
mon.  Some  men  and  women  have  had  several 
different  companions,  and  therefore  it  is  some 
times  not  an  easy  matter  to  know  the  real  rela 
tion  of  children  to  each  other  or  to  their  nom 
inal  parents. 

It  has  always  been  a  custom  with  the  Zunies, 
according  to  their  own  testimony,  to  bury  their 
dead.  They  claim  that  the  dead  are  the  A'wan- 
nami  (rain-makers),  and  therefore  if  the  bodies 
should  be  cremated  or  disposed  of  in  some  other 
way,  there  would  be  no  rain.  Infants  that  die 
with  unpierced  ears  are  supposed  to  carry  bas 
kets  of  toads  and  tadpoles  on  their  heads  and 
hanging  from  their  ears,  and  drop  them  on  the 
earth  when  the  rain-makers  are  at  work.  Be 
cause  this  is  considered  a  great  misfortune,  of 
tentimes  the  ears  of  dead  children  are  pierced 
before  they  are  buried. 

As  soon  as  a  death  has  taken  place,  the  body 
is  laid  with  its  head  to  the  east,  bathed  in  yucca 
suds,  and  rubbed  over  with  cornmeal.  It  is 
clothed  in  the  best  garments  available  and 
wrapped  about  with  one  or  more  blankets,  and 
is  buried.  For  officers  and  priests  there  are 
elaborate  rites  and  exercices,  but  for  the  ordi 
nary  dead  there  is  little  ceremony.  A  death  is 
first  announced  to  the  clan  of  which  he  or  she 
was  a  member,  and  then  the  news  is  spread  to 
all  the  intimates  of  the  family.  The  mourners 
begin  to  arrive  even  before  the  body  is  fully  pre- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         297 

pared  for  the  grave,  and  as  each  woman  enters 
and  looks  upon  the  corpse,  she  at  once  sets  up  a 
hideous  howl,  taking  a  seat  on  the  ledge  which 
extends  around  the  room.  This  howling  con 
tinues  until  the  remains  have  been  removed 
from  the  house  and  are  buried.  Members  of  the 
family  remain  quiet  during  the  funeral  rites. 
The  body,  however,  is  not  accompanied  to  the 
grave  by  the  mourners.  The  interment  is  con 
sidered  a  disagreeable  duty  and  is  concluded  as 
quickly  as  possible  by  the  bearers  of  the  corpse. 
The  cemetery,  since  the  days  of  the  Spanish 
conquest,  is  in  the  church-yard,  in  front  of  the 
ruins  of  the  old  Spanish  church.  The  old  cus 
tom  is  still  adhered  to  that  men  are  buried  on 
the  south  and  women  on  the  north  side  of  the 
burial  grounds.  Today  the  church-yard  is  so 
packed  with  bodies  that  when  a  grave  is  dug, 
the  bones  thrown  out  are  seemingly  as  abundant 
as  the  soil.  Articles  and  possessions  of  any 
value  are  no  longer  buried  with  the  dead  as  was 
formerly  the  custom. 

If  the  burial  occurs  sufficiently  early  for  the 
Sun  Father,  in  his  journey  over  the  world,  to 
receive  the  prayers  wafted  from  the  plumnes, 
the  immediate  members  of  the  family  go  a  short 
distance  west  of  the  village  by  the  river's  bank 
and  make  an  excavation  in  which  the  extra 
clothing  of  the  deceased  are  deposited.  For  four 
nights  after  death  the  ghost  of  the  dead  hovers 
about  the  village  and  then  starts  on  its  journey 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         299 

to  Ko 'thluwala'  wa  (abiding-place  of  the  Coun 
cil  of  Gods).  During  the  stay  of  the  spirit  in  the 
village  the  door  of  the  hatchway  of  the  house 
must  be  left  open  that  it  may  pass  in  and  out 
at  will. 

After  the  burial  of  a  husband  or  a  wife,  the 
body  of  the  surviving  spouse  is  bathed  by  female 
relatives,  and  during  the  four  nights  that  the 
spirit  remains  in  the  village,  the  parents  or  sis 
ters  of  the  deceased  spouse  sleep  at  the  side  of 
the  surviving  one.  A  grain  of  black  corn  and  a 
bit  of  charcoal  are  put  under  the  head  of  the 
mourner  to  insure  against  dreaming  of  the  lost 
one. 


B.     LEGENDS 

T  TNDER  THIS  HEAD  it  is  our.  privilege  first 
^•^  of  all  to  attempt  a  description  of  the  crea 
tion  of  the  Zuni  people,  whom,  as  we  have  al 
ready  seen,  are  designated  as  the  A'shiwi.  The 
parents  of  these  A'shiwi,  or  Zunies,  are  no  other 
than  the  superhuman  beings  who  labor  with 
hearts  and  minds  and  not  with  hands,  and  are 
known  as  Shi'wanni  and  Shi'wano'kia.  The 
Zunies  were  born  as  infants  of  these  parents  in 
the  undermost  world,  and  not  at  long  intervals, 
but  in  very  rapid  succession  until  there  were  a 
great  number  of  them.  The  Sun  Father,  Ya- 
tokia,  had  created  two  sons  by  impregnating 


300          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

two  bits  of  foam  with  his  rays.  These  two  sons 
are  known  as  the  Divine  Ones.  Now  when  the 
Sun  Father  decided  to  bring  his  children,  the 
Zunies  living  in  the  undermost  world,  into  his 
presence,  he  sent  the  Divine  Ones  to  fetch  them, 
having  previously  provided  them  with  rainbows, 
lightning  arrows,  and  cloud  shields.  Thus  equip 
ped,  the  Divine  Ones  shattered  the  earth  with 
their  lightning  arrow's  and  descended  to  the 
dwelling-place  of  the  Zunies,  the  fourth  world 
down. 

When  the  Divine  Ones  arrived  in  this  place, 
the  Zunies  very  naturally  inquired:  "Who  are 
you?  Whence  did  you  come?"  and  as  answer 
they  were  told :  "We  are,  the  two  come  down." 
In  this  undermost  world  it  wras  indeed  so  dark 
that  it  was  impossible  for  one  to  see  the  other, 
and  they  were  constantly  trodding  on  each 
other's  toes.  Holes  in  the  earth  served  for  houses, 
and  seed  grass  was  their  food.  The  Divine  Ones, 
in  order  to  see  the  people,  laid  dry  grass  upon 
the  ground  and  then  by  rubbing  their  arrows 
with  a  rotary  motion  upon  the  bows,  they  pro 
duced  fire  and  lighted  the  grass,  using  it  as  a 
torch  to  carry  about  among  the  people.  There 
were  many  who  could  not  look  on  this  fire  and 
many  others  fell  back,  filled  with  fear.  Thus  the 
Divine  Ones  received  the  impression  that  there 
were  but  a  very  few  people,  but  the  elders  de 
clared  that  there  were  very  many  and  their  word 
prevailed. 


IN       HOG  AN       AND       PUEBLO         3Q1 

The  Divine  Ones  now  proceeded  to  open  the 
way  for  the  people  to  reach  the  outer  world,  suc 
cessively  they  cast  a  line  of  meal  which  produced 
light,  to  the  north,  to  the  west,  to  the  south,  to  the 
east,  each  time  planting  a  certain  tree  for  them 
to  climb  from  the  lower  world  to  the  one  higher 
up  until  they  appeared  in  the  outer  world.  The 
Zunies  therefore  speak  of  their  Sun  Father  and 
their  Earth  Mother. 

As  they  ascended  from  one  world  to  the  other, 
the  Divine  Ones  and  the  Zunies  spent  some  time 
in  each  world,  and  thus  many  of  the  A'shiwi, 
who  were  first  left  behind,  had  time  to  struggle 
on  after  the  others,  and  finally  catch  up  with 
them. 

Although  the  earth  upon  which  the  Zunies 
made  their  appearance  coming  into  the  outer 
world  was  not  exactly  muddy,  nevertheless  it 
was  so  soft  that  they  found  great  difficulty  in 
proceeding.  Many  years  were  consequently  con 
sumed  in  their  journeys  to  discover  the  middle 
of  the  world,  the  place  designated  for  their  habi 
tation.  During  these  years,  repeated  divisions 
of  the  people  occurred,  some  going  to  the  North, 
others  to  the  South,  and  in  this  way  they  account 
for  the  ruins  north  and  south  of  their  line  of 
travel.  Finally,  however,  they  reached  the  de 
sired  place,  the  middle  of  the  world,  now  marked 
by  the  shrine  He' patina,  a  stone's  throw  from  the 
home  of  our  Missionary  at  Zuni. 

The  Zunies  claim  that  the  Mu'kwe  (the  Hopis) 


302          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

followed  them  to  this  world  four  years  after 
they  had  all  arrived.  The  Pimas  came  four 
years  after  the  Hopis,  and  the  Navahoes  four 
years  after  the  Pimas.  All  these  people  had  to 
work  their  own  way  up,  for  the  Divine  Ones  only 
assisted  the  Zunies.  Two  Mexicans,  man  and 
wife,  who  appeared  in  this  world  at  the  time  the 
A'shiwi  arrived,  remained  with  them  for  some 
time,  and  thus  the  presence  of  the  Mexicans 
among  them  is  accounted  for. 

The  annual  Shalako  festival  is  the  great 
autumn  celebration,  and  is  of  more  interest  to 
the  Zunies,  and  also  to  the  Indians  of  the  sur 
rounding  country  as  well  as  to  many  whites, 
than  all  the  other  festivals.  The  Shalako,  or 
giant  couriers  of  the  rain-makers,  come  to  the 
village  and  this  is  the  sign  for  great,  yea,  un 
bounded  feasting  and  entertaining  by  the  Zunies. 
During  these  days  the  larders  are  never  empty. 
Regardless  of  the  aftermath,  with  its  attendant 
suffering,  the  poorer  class  of  Zunies  often  give, 
during  this  festival,  all  that  they  possess  for  the 
feeding  of  their  welcome  and  unwelcome  guests. 
Among  the  unwelcome  guests  at  this  festival  are 
the  Navahoes,  who  in  continually  increasing 
numbers,  come  to  satiate  their  appetites  at  the 
expense  of  their  hosts.  These  Navahoes  do  not 
seem  to  have  the  slightest  hesitancy  in  coming 
unbidden  to  Zuni,  riding  up  to  a  house,  unsad 
dling  their  horses,  walking  in  and  remaining  as 
long  as  they  please,  and  the  Zunies,  although  not 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        303 

graciously,  nevertheless  accept  this  as  inevitable 
and  make  the  best  of  it. 

The  Divine  Ones  not  only  divided  the  Zunies 
into  different  groups  or  clans,  with  distinguishing 
names  as :  Dogwood  clan,  Corn  clan,  Bear  clan, 
Coyote  clan,  Antelope  clan,  etc.,  but  they  also 
organized  and  established  certain  fraternities 
among  them  as :  Rattlesnake,  Struck-by  light 
ning  fraternity,  etc.  It  would  simply  be  impos 
sible,  within  the  limits  of  our  space,  to  give  any 
adequate  description  of  this  Zuni  fraternity  life 
and  ceremony  work,  but  we  do  want  to  say  a 
few  words  about  just  one  fraternity  in  conclud 
ing  this  Chapter,  and  anyone  particularly  inter 
ested  may  study  the  subject  for  himself  by  ob 
taining  the  necessary  material  from  any  up-to- 
date  Public  Library. 

The  Fraternity  we  have  in  mind  is  known  as 
the  'Hle'wekwe  (Wood  Fraternity)  or  Sword 
Swallowers.  Different  clans  are  represented  in 
this  fraternity,  and  it  is  considered  to  be  a  great 
honor  to  be  represented  therein.  Two  regular 
meetings  are  held  each  year,  one  in  January 
and  the  other  in  February.  Should  they  dance 
or  hold  their  meetings  in  the  summer,  the  corn 
\vould  freeze,  as  their  songs  and  dances  are  for 
cold  rains  and  snows.  The  medicines  of  these 
'Hle'wekwe  are  considered  to  be  especially  good 
for  sore  throat;  undoubtedly  because  of  their 
barbarous  practices  during  their  dances.  The  di 
rectors  have  wooden  swords  which,  during  their 


304          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

ceremonial  dances,  they  ram  down  their  throats 
until  just  enough  is  left  exposed  to  get  hold  of 
when  the  time  comes  for  withdrawing  them.  It 
is  a  marvelous  feat  to  accomplish,  but  a  nause 
ating  affair  to  witness.  Such  are  also  the  prac 
tices  of  other  fraternities  too  horrible  and  too 
beastly  even  to  mention,  much  less  describe.  May 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus  lead  them  out  of  this  dense 
darkness  to  the  wonderful  light  of  love  and  to 
the  works  of  purity  and  beneficence. 


C.     SUPERSTITIONS 

'"T'HE  ZUNIES,  as  all  primitive  peoples,  are  not 
*  as  happy  in  their  philosophy  of  life  as  are 
civilized  and  enlightened  men,  because  these 
have  cast  away  many  of  their  superstitions, 
while  the  Zunies'  world  still  abounds  in  perplex 
ing  mysteries.  Any  thing  they  are  not  able  to 
understand  or  comprehend  is  ascribed  to  some 
occult  power,  and  consequently  they  are  in  con 
stant  terror  of  being  conjured.  Young  mothers 
especially  are  solicitous  for  their  infants,  since 
these  are  the  targets  for  the  venom  of  diabolical 
beings.  Possessors  of  fine  beads  or  other  adorn 
ments  are  constantly  frightened  by  the  thought 
that  some  witch,  prompted  by  jealousy,  will  cast 
a  spell  upon  them  and  afflict  them  with  some 
sore  disease.  Those  that  are  in  any  way  de 
formed  or  have  some  peculiarity  in  their  phys- 


IX       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         3Q5 

ical  make-up,  or  who  have  awakened  the  enmity 
of  a  prominent  member  of  the  tribe,  are  con 
stantly  in  terror  lest  they  fall  under  the  sus 
picion  of  being  a  witch.  Those  who  must  go 
about  at  night,  find  a  great  boon  in  the  moon 
light  which  enables  them  to  identify  suspicious 
objects,  for  it  is  believed  that  witches  love  the 
night  and  lurk  in  shadows  and  darkness,  and 
often  assume  the  shape  and  form  of  animals, 
especially  that  of  the  cat,  because  of  its  stealthy 
habits  and  its  ability  to  get  thru  small  places. 
Belief  in  witchcraft  is  therefore  strong  among 
the  Zunies,  even  as  among  all  the  Indian  tribes 
of  our  land. 

Although  there  are  always  some  in  the  village 
that  are  under  a  cloud  of  suspicion,  nevertheless 
it  takes  some  particular  cause,  as  the  severe  ill 
ness  or  death  of  a  prominent  man  or  woman  of 
the  tribe,  to  start  the  persecution  and  the  bring- 
i:ig  to  trial  of  a  witch.  The  attendant  theurgist 
must  in  some  way  account  for  his  inability  to 
cure  the  patient,  and  he  finds  an  easy  way  to  do 
this  by  ascribing  malevolent  powers  to  someone 
already  under  suspicion  or  to  someone  who  has 
aroused  his  enmity  and  hatred.  Upon  convic 
tion  a  witch  must  suffer  capital  punishment. 

Many,  many  are  the  stories  that  might  be  told 
about  those  who  professed  to  be  under  the  power 
of  some  witch,  or  about  those  who  have  been  ac 
cused  of  being  witches.  But  of  all  the  stories  we 
have  read  or  heard  along  this  line,  we  select  just 


306          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

one  for  your  reading,  and  this  selection  was  de 
cided  by  the  fact  that  we,  on  one  of  our  visits  to 
Zuni,  had  the  privilege  to  talk  with  the  accused 
and  question  him  concerning  the  whole  matter. 
Zuni  Nick,  now  a  man  past  middle  age,  was 
brought  up  in  the  family  of  an  Indian  trader. 
As  a  result  of  this,  and  of  the  ideas  he  continually 
absorbed  in  listening  to  the  white  people  when 
they  talked  about  the  Zuni  dances  and  cere 
monies,  Nick  was  led  to  deny  and  despise  the 
teachings  and  superstitions  of  his  people.  As  a 
young  man  he  was  rather  bold  and  outspoken, 
and  when  he  returned  from  the  white  man's 
school,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  publicly  criticize 
the  "ways  of  the  old,"  as  followed  by  the  Zunies. 
After  some  time  he  fell  in  love  with  a  Zuni 
maiden,  and  in  spite  of  all  protests,  he  succeeded 
in  winning  her,  and  they  were  married.  This 
marriage  and  his  continued  mocking  criticisms 
of  their  customs,  superstitions, .  and  religion, 
widened  the  breach  between  him  and  his  people 
more  and  more,  and  the  elders,  priests,  and  gov 
ernors  assumed  an  attitude  of  "watchful  wait 
ing,"  for  their  day  of  opportunity  to  publicly  re 
buke  him,  which  they  knew  would  come  sooner 
or  later.  At  last  this  day  dawned.  The  crops 
were  a  failure  as  a  result  of  a  severe  drought 
and  of  hot  winds  that  simply  scorched  every 
thing,  the  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats  began  to  die 
off,  the  children  fell  sick  and  many  died,  the 
hunters  returned  empty-handed  from  the  chase 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         307 

in  spite  of  their  most  earnest  prayers  and  peti 
tions  to  the  gods.  These  conditions  offered  to 
the  enemies  of  Nick  their  long-coveted  oppor 
tunity.  Quietly  they  had  it  whispered  about  the 
village  that  all  these  evils  were  due  to  the  fact 
that  Nick,  who  constantly  associated  with  white 
men  and  used  the  white  man's  language,  was  a 
wizard  and  had  exercised  his  diabolical  powers 
upon  them.  The  leaven  of  hatred  and  supersti 
tion  soon  began  to  work.  One  nignt  when  Nick 
was  sound  asleep,  a  number  of  the  elders  broke 
into  his  room,  bound  him  hand  and  foot,  gagged 
him  and  carried  him  to  one  of  the  Estufas,  un 
derground  sacred  ceremonial  chambers.  Here 
he  was  faced  by  his  accusers,  harangued,  and  ex 
horted  to  confess.  Nick,  who  realized  what  his 
fate  would  be  unless  he  were  rescued,  mocked 
and  teased  his  captors  and  defied  them  to  do 
their  worst,  thus  fighting  for  time.  Being  tried, 
he  was  soon  found  guilty,  his  hands  tied  behind 
his  back,  taken  to  the  ruins  of  the  old  Spanish 
church,  he  was  hung  up  by  the  thumbs  from  a 
projecting  beam.  Thus  he  hung  suspended  in 
most  horrible  torture  until  upon  the  urging  of 
the  Shamans  he  was  ready  to  confess  that  he 
was  a  wizard.  This  confession  would  undoubt 
edly  have  cost  him  his  life  had  it  not  been  for 
the  Zunies'  fear  of  the  soldiers  at  Fort  Wingate, 
and  with  whom  they  were  threatened  by  the 
trader,  who  had  been  notified  of  what  was  going 
on,  if  they  did  not  release  Nick  immediately. 


308          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

After  the  release  the  Government  Agent  was 
informed  by  someone  of  what  had  happened.  He 
undertook  to  bring  the  guilty  ones  to  trial  for 
"assaulting  with  intent  to  kill"  one  of  their  own 
people.  But  at  last  fearing  that  this  step  might 
lead  to  a  Zuni  uprising,  which  would  not  be  to 
his  credit  as  United  States  Agent,  he  satisfied  his 
desire  for  justice  by  arresting  the  Zuni  Governor, 
'Tsnahey,  known  to  the  whites  as  Dick,  and  sent 
him  to  prison  for  several  months  on  the  charge 
that,  as  Governor,  he  had  power  to  prevent  the 
persecution  of  Nick. 

Since  that  time  and  day,  even  up  to  the  pres 
ent,  there  is  an  irreconcilable  enmity  between 
Zuni  Nick  and  Zuni  Dick. 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        309 

XV. 
ENTERING  THE  ZUNI  FIELD 

TN  THE  month  of  June,  1629,  a  band  of  Mission- 
^  aries  under  Fray  Estevan  de  Perea,  accom 
panied  by  the  governor,  Don  Francisco  Manuel 
de  Silva  Nieto,  started  westward  from  Santa  Fe 
for  the  purpose  of  planting  missions  among  the 
Acomas,  Zunies,  and  Hopis.  They  evidently 
reached  Zuni  late  in  July,  as  Nieto's  first  inscrip 
tion  on  El  Morro  is  dated  July  29.  Fray  Roque 
de  Figueredo,  Fray  Augustine  de  Cuellar,  and 
Fray  Francisco  de  la  Medre  de  Dios,  together 
with  three  soldiers,  one  of  whom  was  Juan  Gon- 
zales,  remained  at  Zuni.  A  house  was  built  for 
religious  purposes  at  Hawikuh,  which  became 
the  first  Misison  established  in  the  Zuni  country. 
These  three  missionaries,  however,  disappear 
from  Zuni  history  before  1632.  They  were  suc 
ceeded  by  Fray  Francisco  Letrado,  who  arrived 
in  New  Mexico  in  1629,  and  was  first  assigned  to 
the  Jumanos  east  of  the  Rio  Grande.  In  the 
month  of  February,  on  the  twenty-second,  a  date 
now  known  to  every  American  boy  and  girl  as 
the  birthday  of  George  Washington,  the  father 
of  his  country,  of  the  year  1632,  the  Zunies  killed 
Letrado,  and  then  out  of  fear  for  the  conse 
quences,  fled  to  their  stronghold  on  Mount 
Toaiyalone,  where  they  remained  for  three 
years.  Five  days  after  the  massacre  of  Letrado 


310          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

the  Zunies  also  followed  Fray  Martin  de  Arvide 
and  also  murdered  him  and  his  escort  of  two  sol 
diers  as  they  were  going  from  the  Zuni  villages 
to  visit  a  tribe  who  lived  to  the  west.  Mission 
aries  of  this  same  Order  were  again  established 
at  Zuni  about  the  year  1643.  In  1670  the  Nav- 
ahoes  raided  the  Zuni  villages  and  besides  other 
depredations,  they  killed  the  Zuni  missionary, 
Fray  Pedro  de  Avila  Ayala  by  beating  out  his 
brains  with  a  bell  while  he  was  clinging  to  a 
cross.  Ten  years  later,  in  1680,  a  general  revolt 
of  Pueblo  Indians  against  Spanish  authority 
took  place.  Again  the  Zunies  killed  the  mission 
ary,  Fray  Juan  de  Bal,  burned  the  church  and 
fled  once  more  to  Toaiyalone,  wrhere  they  re 
mained  this  time  for  more  than  twelve  years.  In 
1700  Padre  Juan  Garaicochea  was  priest  at  Zuni. 
From  now  on  the  history  is  not  particularly  in 
teresting;  thruout  the  eighteenth  and  well  into 
the  nineteenth  century,  a  mission  was  in  exist 
ence,  but  at  last  the  church  fell  into  ruin  and 
only  occasionally  was  it  visited  by  priests. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  Friars  will  give 
up  this  mission,  once  established  by  their 
martyrs'  blood,  without  a  great  combat.  They 
may  be  willing  to  let  us  alone  at  present,  and  it 
may  seem  that  we  will  be  allowed  to  continue 
our  work  unmolested,  but  we  doubt  not,  the  day 
will  come  when  we  will  have  them  to  contend 
with. 

After  the  Friars  discontinued  their  active  work 


3 

co 


312          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

in  Zuni,  abandoning  the  ruins  of  a  once  large 
church,  the  Presbyterians  made  an  attempt  to 
establish  a  mission  at  Zuni.  This  was  in  the  days 
when  this  great  Church  was  not  alive  to  the 
cause  of  Indian  Missions  as  it  is  today.  It  was 
not  a  very  prosperous  undertaking,  and  did  not 
in  any  way  receive  the  backing  that  it  should 
have  from  the  home  church.  When  our  Churcn 
desired  to  occupy  the  field  in  1897,  these  good 
people  very  willingly  withdrew  and  left  the 
work  to  us. 

The  motive  of  our  entering  this  field  when  we 
had  as  yet  only  the  smallest  kind  of  a  beginning 
among  the  Navahoes,  may  well  be  questioned. 
We  recall  that  it  was  in  the  latter  part  of  1896 
that  our  men,  Rev.  H.  Fryling  and  Mr.  A.  Van 
der  Wagen,  with  their  wives,  entered  upon  the 
Indian  Mission  service  at  Fort  Defiance.  Soon 
after  becoming  established  at  that  place,  they 
came  in  contact  with  members  of  the  Zuni  tribe, 
and  after  their  village  had  been  visited,  Mr.  Van 
der  Wagen  was  filled  with  enthusiasm  to  enter 
upon  that  field,  believing  that  it  was  Providen 
tial  as  well  as  a  most  promising  opportunity. 
After  imparting  some  of  his  enthusiasm  to  mem 
bers  of  the  Board,  he  was  granted  the  privilege 
to  enter  the  field.  The  following  year  a  severe 
epidemic  of  smallpox  broke  out  among  the 
Zunies,  and  Mr.  Van  der  Wagen  and  his  good 
wife,  who  by  the  way  was  a  nurse,  stood  by  the 
sick  and  the  dying.  It  verily  seemed  that  the  un- 


IN       110  CAN       AND       PUEBLO         313 

timely  death  of  so  many,  and  the  highly  appre 
ciated  services  of  the  missionaries  would  open 
the  hearts  of  the  survivors  for  the  Gospel  of 
light  and  life.  But  when  the  danger  was  past, 
although  the  services  were  not  forgotten,  the 
Zunies  clung  to  their  idolatry  and  superstition. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  der  Wagen  labored  on  without 
gathering  any  real  fruit  until  1906,  when  he  re 
signed  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  H.  Fryling,. 
formerly  among  the  Navahoes  at  Fort  Defiance, 
but  who,  when  that  place  was  abandoned,  en 
tered  upon  the  regular  ministry  in  our  Church  at 
Pease,  Minnesota.  His  heart,  however,  was  in 
the  Indian  service,  so  when  the  way  was  opened 
for  him  to  take  up  the  work  at  Zuni,  he  was  glad 
to  accept  the  call  and  the  Board  was  more  glad 
to  have  him  accept,  seeing  that  it  was  seemingly 
impossible  to  get  anyone  to  enter  upon  that 
work. 

Since  1906  Rev.  Fryling  has  been  laboring  at 
Zuni,  not  with  a  blare  of  trumpets  and  the  beat 
ing  of  drums,  but  quietly  and  carefully  thru 
teaching  and  preaching  laying  a  solid  founda 
tion  to  build  upon  when  the  Lord's  time  comes 
to  call  the  Zunies  out  of  nature's  darkness  into 
the  wonderful  light  of  His  mercy  and  grace.  Al 
ready  a  couple  of  young  men  have  accepted  the 
Christ  Jesus  presented  to  them  in  the  catechism 
class  by  Missionary  Fryling.  A  great  number 
of  others  would  be  willing  to  accept  Christian 
Baptism  if  the  Missionary  \vould  only  be  ready 


314          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

to  receive  them  and  thru  baptism  bring  them 
into  the  Christian  Church.  Rev.  Fryling  is  a 
most  careful  and  conscientious  worker,  and  fully 
realizing  the  temptations,  the  scoffings,  the  per 
secutions  that  await  every  convert,  he  desires  to 
be  rather  certain  that  any  whom  he  receives 
into  the  communion  of  the  Church  shall  be  able 
to  withstand  all  these,  for  a  back-slidden  convert 
in  Zuni  would  be  a  tremendous  drawback  to  the 
prosecution  of  the  work.  Ah!  Zuni  is  undoubt 
edly  a  promising  field.  Not  in  the  sense  in  which 
many  have  understood  it,  however,  who  thought 
that  in  a  short  time  the  village  to  a  great  extent 
would  be  a  village  of  converts.  But  promising 
in  the  sense,  as  you  may  gleam  it  from  a  careful 
perusal  of  Rev.  Fryling's  article,  which  follows. 
Promising,  when  we  do  not  forget:  "Not  by 
might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  My  Spirit  shall  it  be 
brought  to  pass,  saith  the  Lord";  when,  after  a 
thorough  indoctrination  of  the  youth,  both  boys 
and  girls,  the  influence  and  power  of  the  old 
people  is  broken.  Then,  and  then  only,  may  we, 
by  the  grace  of  our  God,  expect  a  mighty  change 
in  Zuni.  If  thru  kindness  and  love  the  Mission 
ary  and  his  helpers  are  able  to  hold  the  youth 
who  they  are  now  teaching  in  the  various  schools 
and  Sunday  schools,  then  the  future  for  the  work 
at  Zuni  is  most  promising. 

It  is  in  no  way  necessary  for  us  to  go  into  de 
tail  about  the  work  or  the  workers,  our  repre 
sentatives,  at  Zuni,  for  you  will  find  a  full  de- 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        315 

scription  of  this  in  the  following  written  by  the 
Rev.  H.  Fryling  himself.  We  want  to  mention, 
however,  that  the  various  workers  at  Zuni  are 
sincere  and  consecrated  men  and  women,  and 
that  the  mutual  relation  is  always  of  the  very 
best.  The  Missionary  and  his  Assistant  are  sup 
ported  by  the  Classis  Muskegon,  while  the  school 
and  all  connected  therewith  is  for  reckoning  of 
the  Board.  We  have,  as  a  Board,  without  ex 
ception,  received  laudatory  commendation  of 
the  Mission  from  the  other  whites  living  in  or 
near  Zuni  and  Blackrock,  where  the  work  is  car 
ried  on.  No  one  visiting  our  Indian  field  should 
fail  to  make  a  trip  to  Zuni,  one  of  the  most  in 
teresting  places  of  the  Southwest  to  visit.  With 
the  hope  that  your  interest  in  this  particular 
part  of  our  Indian  Mission  service  may  increase 
your  prayers  to  the  Throne  above  that  the  idola 
trous  and  superstitious  Zuni  may  also  come  to 
the  faith  that  saves,  we  ask  you  to  read  most 
carefully  the  description  of  the  work  that 
follows. 


THE  ZUNI  MISSION 

REV.  H.  FRYLING,  Missionary  at  Zuni,  N.  M. 

OUR  FIELD  is  in  the  Zuni  village  and  valley 
on  the  north  and  south  side  of  the  Zuni 
River,  about  forty  miles  southwest  of  Gallup, 
New   Mexico.      Here    our    Christian    Reformed 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         317 

Church  located  its  mission  in  the  fall  of  1897, 
and  where  we  then  found  a  tribe  of  about  1,600 
pueblo  Indians,  the  remnant  of  a  much  larger 
tribe  which  lived  here  in  the  past.  Since  the 
Government  took  charge  of  them,  their  num 
ber  has  increased  to  a  little  over  1,800.  They 
are  a  village  people,  which  as  long  as  they  have 
been  known,  have  lived  together  in  pueblos.  At 
present  the  Museum  of  the  American  Indian, 
the  Heye  Foundation,  is  making  an  ethnological 
survey,  by  excavating  one  of  the  oldest  Zuni  vil 
lages  called  Haweku,  which  is  located  about 
fourteen  miles  southwest  from  the  present  Zuni 
village.  This  old  village,  found  by  Spanish  ex 
plorers,  is  entirely  covered  with  sand,  and  by 
these  excavations  very  precious  things  are  found 
to  elucidate  the  early  history  of  the  Zunies. 

The  Zunies,  unlike  their  Navaho  neighbors, 
have  a  regular  home  and  family  life.  They 
build  a  home  and  enjoy  being  in  their  family 
circle  and  visiting  relatives  and  friends  in  their 
homes.  They  do  the  most  of  their  visiting  in 
the  winter  when  their  farm  work  is  done  and 
nearly  all  have  come  together  from  their  three 
farming  villages,  various  farming  places  and 
ranches,  for  civil  and  religious  association.  Be 
sides  being  a  home-loving  people,  they  also  enjoy 
to  be  together  in  society.  During  the  winter 
months  they  often  convene  for  counsel  on  secu 
lar  and  religious  matters.  They  have  for  that 
purpose  a  regular  staff  of  civil  officers  appointed 


318  BRINGING      THE       GOSPEL 

by  their  most  important  religious  leaders.  Their 
civil  government  is  thus  kept  up  and  regulated 
by  their  religious  officers.  This  is  the  reason  why 
the  Zuni  religious  system  governs  the  entire 
tribe,  and  every  action  in  its  government,  in  its 
society  and  family  life  is,  in  some  way  or  other, 
connected  with  religion,  and  has  some  kind  of  a 
religious  significance  attached  to  it.  Their  homes 
are  built  and  consecrated  with  religious  cere 
monies,  their  grindstones,  for  grinding  the  meal 
or  flour  in  their  homes,  are  set  with  sacred  meal 
and  prayer  plumes  under  them;  their  fields  and 
ranches  are  often  visited  and  consecrated  with 
devotional  exercises.  Their  whole  civil  and  so 
cial,  as  well  as  their  religious  life,  is  therefore 
connected  with  some  kind  of  a  devotional 
ceremony. 

The  Zunies  are  therefore  considered  a  very 
religious  people,  who  are  guided  by  their  re 
ligious  beliefs  and  motives  thru  the  whole  of 
their  lives.  We  must  admit  they  are  a  very  re 
ligious  people,  but  we  must  also  note  that  their 
religion  is  exceedingly  formal,  consisting  in 
nothing  but  religious  ceremonies,  which  does  not 
influence  their  morals  nor  change  their  life  for 
the  better.  They  believe  in  the  Sun-Father  as 
their  main  deity,  and  next  to  him  the  Moon- 
Mother  and  her  children,  the  stars  and  other 
forces  of  nature  which  they  emblematize  by 
making  images  of  and  shrines  for  them.  The 
worship  of  these  idols,  however,  does  not  create 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        319 

in  them  a  sense  of  dependence  upon  or  respon 
sibility  towards  a  higher  being.  They  have  no 
conception  of  real  sin  or  of  favor  with  their 
gods.  Consequently  they  have  no  idea  of  a 
heaven  and  a  hell,  in  the  sense  as  taught  by  the 
Word  of  God.  They  believe  in  Kothlualakwe, 
which  is  an  imaginary  village  of  the  Zuni  dead, 
about  forty  miles  southwest  from  the  present 
Zuni  Pueblo,  but  this  is  a  place  where  all  the 
Zunies  go  four  days  after  their  demise.  In  this 
village  the  spirits  pass  their  time  with  dance  and 
song,  and  from  thence  they  now  and  then,  in  the 
form  of  Ko-kokshi  (certain  dancers) ,  make  their 
appearance  among  the  people  in  the  Zuni  vil 
lage.  At  other  times  they  are  heard  and  seen  in 
the  cloudy  sky  as  rain  gods,  who  send  thunder, 
lightning,  rain,  snow,  and  so  on.  What  really 
keeps  the  Zunies  in  line  for  their  pagan  worship 
is  not  so  much  their  love  for  their  gods  nor  their 
fear  of  them,  as  their  fear  of  one  another.  They 
are  very  much  afraid  to  be  looked  upon  and  held 
by  their  people  as  a  wizard  or  a  witch,  and  can 
not  bear  any  reproach.  In  former  years  the 
wizards  and  witches  were  hung  up  by  their 
hands  tied  on  their  backs  till  they  confessed 
their  sin.  At  present  they  are  ignored  and  their 
life  among  them  is  made  unbearable  by  mockery 
and  scoffing.  The  public  opinion  in  Zuni  is  as 
yet  much  against  everything  new  and  all  that 
contradicts  and  counteracts  their  religious 
views,  because  the  older  men  are  still  in  the  lead. 


320          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

From  babyhood  up  their  children  are  taught 
their  pagan  views  and  to  shun  everything  that  is 
foreign  to  their  religion. 

The  Zunies,  therefore,  live  for  the  present  and 
have  no  sense  of  the  needs  for  a  future  life. 
They  toil  every  day  in  the  week,  and  think  of 
nothing  else  than  what  pertains  to  their  tem 
poral  welfare.  The  majority  of  them  are  not 
poor  materially  and  live  as  well  as  the  average 
wrhite  people.  Their  life  is  not  conducted  or  con 
trolled  by  a  moral  and  spiritual  influence.  They 
will  all  tell  a  falsehood  or  steal  if  they  consider 
themselves  reasonably  certain  of  not  being  de 
tected.  They  do  not  know  of  a  word  of  honor, 
and  are  thus  not  dependable  not  only  for  the 
whites,  but  also  among  themselves.  They  do  not 
trust  one  another  for  a  minute.  This  lack  of  con 
fidence  is  seen  in  their  trade,  in  their  business 
contracts,  in  their  marriage  vows,  and  in  any 
other  promise  they  should  happen  to  make. 
They  do  not  seem  to  feel  themselves  bound  by 
a  sense  of  justice.  The  reliable  among  them 
are  very  few,  and  they  even  are  not  any  too 
honest  and  dependable  according  to  the  opinion 
of  the  Indian  traders  who  deal  with  them.  Their 
character  is  peculiar  and  very  difficult  for  us  to 
understand. 

They  are  naturally  a  friendly  people,  and  very 
hospitable  and  kind,  and  not  addicted  to  much 
quarreling  and  the  committing  of  heinous 
crimes.  We  therefore  never  hear  of  any  mur- 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         321 

ders  among  them  as  we  do  amongst  the  Nav- 
ahoes.  The  best  conception  of  their  character 
we  obtain  when  wre  deal  with  them  and  treat 
them  as  a  people,  adults  in  body  but  children  in 
mind  and  soul.  They  are  easily  stirred  up  to 
anger,  and  by  a  little  kind  treatment  soon 
quieted  down  to  peaceful  association.  They  are 
teachable  and  subject  to  material  advancement. 
Some  of  them  are  quite  thrifty  and  prove  that 
there  is  a  future  for  the  Zunies.  The  coming 
generation,  two-thirds  of  which  are  or  have  been 
educated  in  schools,  begins  to  show  a  marked 
change  of  character.  Although  these  young 
people  in  many  ways  try  to  comply  with  the 
wishes  of  their  parents  and  the  leaders  of  the 
tribe,  they  nevertheless  hold  their  own  ideas  and 
do  many  things  which  they  are  required  to  do 
for  their  people  with  disgust.  They  do  not  like 
to  be  noticed  by  the  white  people  when  they 
must  take  part  in  the  foolish  stunts  of  the  old 
Zunies.  For  this  reason  we  believe  that  the  pub 
lic  opinion  and  character  of  the  Zunies  is  slowly 
changing  for  the  better.  Their  opposition  to 
something  foreign  is  not  so  great  and  strong  at 
present  as  it  was  when  our  mission  work  in  Zuni 
began.  They  are  more  subject  to  persuasion 
and  to  listen  to  advice  than  in  former  years,  be 
it  for  no  other  reason  than  to  get  material  gain 
and  obtain  a  certain  advantage  over  others. 
Thus  the  Zunies  are  gradually  advancing  in  civi 
lization,  and  are  accommodating  themselves  to 
present-day  circumstances  and  influences. 


322          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

This  change  in  the  life  of  the  Zunies  is  caused 
by  various  influences.  The  first  to  be  men 
tioned  is  their  association  with  the  Mexican  and 
white  settlers  around  their  reservation,  with 
whom  they  trade  more  or  less  in  stock  or  farm 
products.  They  are  quite  keen  to  see  a  good 
thing  and  ever  ready  to  imitate  their  neighbors 
to  suit  their  own  convenience.  If  one  of  them, 
therefore,  catches  an  idea  of  a  white  man  or 
Mexican  and  proves  his  success  in  applying  it, 
others  will  follow  suit  and  all  will  be  trying  to 
do  the  same  thing.  They  do  not  like  to  go  or 
work  alone.  They  often,  therefore,  go  and  work 
in  groups  on  the  field,  threshing-floor,  in  sheep- 
camp,  harvesting  and  hauling  wood.  They  fol 
low  each  other  like  sheep  in  doing  things,  and 
enjoy  spending  their  time  together  in  social 
chats  and  games.  They  can  lose  game  after 
game  without  the  least  sign  of  being  disheart 
ened  or  less  cheerful  than  when  they  entered 
the  game. 

Another  influence  for  a  change  in  the  Zuni 
life  and  character  has  been  the  Indian  Trader, 
who  has  ever  held  new  things  out  to  them  in 
trade  for  their  produce  of  sheep,  cattle,  hides, 
wool,  grains  and  other  farm  products.  In  this 
way  they  have  learned  that  there  is  something 
else  in  the  world  than  what  they  themselves  pro 
duce.  The  old  people  have  the  idea  that  they 
are  living  at  the  center  of  the  earth.  Two-thirds 
of  these  people  have  never  yet  seen  a  railroad 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        323 

train,  and  seem  to  be  satisfied  with  what  they 
have  at  home  in  Zuni.  That  trade  in  the  stores 
has  taught  them  the  value  of  money  and  how  to 
handle  it.  They  buy  their  articles  one  at  a  time 
and  pay  for  its  separately,  causing  much  work 
for  the  clerks  in  giving  them  change.  The  Indian 
trade,  it  must  be  admitted,  has  wonderfully 
changed  their  mode  of  living,  their  manners  and 
costumes.  The  old-time  dress  has  long  ago  dis 
appeared  and  the  civilized  clothes  have  taken 
its  place.  In  their  religious  ceremonies  the  old 
costume  is  sometimes  used,  but  the  most  of  their 
apparel  even  then  is  made  up  of  what  they  buy 
in  the  stores.  Their  homes  have  changed  from 
old,  small,  dingy  dwellings,  built  close  together 
and  upon  each  other,  with  the  entrance  up  and 
down  a  ladder  thru  the  roof,  to  large,  roomy 
houses  built  somewhat  apart,  with  a  large  en 
trance  in  the  side  and  well-lighted  with  Ameri 
can  windows.  Civilized  household  goods  have 
now  found  a  place  in  their  homes.  The  sewing- 
machine,  stove  or  range,  bedstead,  table  and 
chairs  were  about  the  first  to  claim  a  place.  From 
the  light  derived  from  the  fire  on  the  hearth  they 
adopted  the  use  of  the  wax  candle,  next  came  the 
coal-oil  lamp,  and  now  quite  a  number  of  them 
use  the  modern  gasoline  lamp.  From  these  and 
other  things  we  can  readily  observe  the  influence 
the  Indian  trader  has  on  the  life  of  the  Zunies. 
They  have  mightily  advanced  in  civilization 
since  they  came  in  contact  with  the  white  people 


324          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

and  have  given  a  clear  proof  that  they  arc  a 
people  adaptable  to  the  influences  of  civiliza 
tion.  Still,  they  are  in  dire  need  of  a  change  of 
heart  and  life.  They  need  more  than  this  ma 
terial  change.  They  need  the  Gospel.  They 
need  the  knowledge  of  the  only  true  God,  of  the 
Savior  and  the  way  that  leads  to  a  spiritual  life. 

Yet  another  influence  for  their  uplift,  which 
by  the  providence  of  God,  is  brought  to  bear 
upon  them  is  the  kind  endeavor  of  our  Govern 
ment  to  educate  them  by  sending  instructors  to 
teach  them  how  to  till  their  land  and  care  for 
their  stock.  A  government  physician  and  field 
matron  are  sent  to  look  after  their  health  and 
cleanliness.  Their  influence  is  gradually  gaining 
in  strength,  and  their  presence  is  growing  more 
indispensable  to  them.  When  the  Doctor  is 
away  on  a  vacation,  the  Zunies  soon  feel  the 
need  of  him.  The  Government  maintains  two 
schools  here  in  Zuni  and  our  Church  one.  The 
aggregate  number  of  Zuni  children  attending 
these  three  schools  is  a  little  over  three  hundred, 
with  about  fifty  or  sixty  others  attending  non- 
reservation  schools.  By  this  education  the  young 
Indians  are  taught  how  to  deal  with  their  neigh 
bors,  how  to  build  good  homes  and  how  to  live 
a  civilized  life  amongst  a  civilized  people.  These 
young  people  are  causing  a  visible  change 
amongst  their  own  people  as  they  begin  to  prac 
tice  at  home  what  they  have  been  taught  at  school 
and  in  their  association  with  the  whites.  Their 


IN       HOGAN      AND       PUEBLO        325 

schooling,  although  very  necessary  for  their  ma 
terial  uplift,  is  not  sufficient  to  give  them  the 
much-needed  information  concerning  the  things 
of  the  life  to  come.  Civilization  without  the 
knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  name  under 
heaven  given  among  men  for  salvation,  will 
never  save  a  soul  from  the  wrath  of  God  to  come. 
This  is  evident  also  here  in  Zuni.  These  Indians 
need  the  knowledge  of  the  only  true  God  and 
Jesus  Christ,  His  Son,  whom  he  has  sent  to  be 
the  only  Saviour  of  sinners,  but  let  us  mark  that 
all  the  above  mentioned  influences  are  paving 
the  way  and  opening  the  door  for  us  to  bring 
them  the  Gospel.  These  Indians  are  therefore 
more  accessible  today  to  be  reached  with  the 
message  of  truth  than  they  were  twenty  or  thirty 
years  ago.  The  time  is  not  so  far  distant  when 
they  will  all  be  able  to  speak  and  understand 
the  American  language  and  read  the  Bible  and 
other  books  in  English. 

From  this  bird's-eye  view  of  our  mission  field 
in  Zuni  we  shall  be  willing  to  admit  that  it  is  a 
place  where  Satan  dwelleth  and  where  he  has 
his  forces  well  organized  to  resist  any  eventual 
attack  of  his  enemy.  But  we  can  also  feel  as 
sured  that  the  forces  of  the  Most  High  God  are 
busily  at  work  to  overthrow  his  bulwark,  and 
that  according  to  the  Word  of  God,  like  many 
other  strongholds  of  his,  will  have  to  fall  before 
the  irresistible  influence  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  day  will  come  when  the  Zunies  as 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO        327 

well  as  other  people,  will  bow  before  the  Lord 
our  God  and  seek  pardon  and  mercy  thru  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb  slain  on  Calvary's  cross. 

OUR  MISSION  FORCE  until  now  has  con 
sisted  of  one  ordained  missionary  and  three 
helpers;  an  assistant  missionary  who  makes  it 
his  business  to  reach  the  young  men;  a  matron, 
who  takes  care  of  the  cleanliness  of  the  Indian 
children  of  our  Mission  Day  School,  and  who 
tries  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  Zuni  young 
women  who  understand  and  speak  English;  and 
a  teacher,  who  gives  Christian  instruction  to 
about  thirty-five  young  Zunies. 

Our  Christian  Mission  Day  School,  held  in  a 
little  adobe  building  on  our  Mission  premises,  is 
always  well  attended  and  never  needs  to  beg  for 
pupils,  as  the  Zunies  like  to  send  their  children 
there.  The  teacher  always  leads  the  school  in 
the  beginning  and  at  the  close  of  each  school- 
day  in  devotional  exercices.  Here  is  where  the 
little  Indians  learn  to  read  and  write,  figure  and 
draw,  love  and  obey,  and  last  but  not  least,  to 
read  and  reverence  the  Bible,  to  sing  Christian 
hymns  and  pray  to  the  true  God.  Every  school- 
day  the  golden  text  for  Sunday  school  is  re 
peated  and  the  children  are  pointed  to  Him,  who 
came  to  this  world  to  seek  and  save  poor  lost 
sinners.  What  a  glorious  work  is  done  there  in 
that  little  Christian  school-room.  Such  a  work 
cannot  and  will  not  be  without  glorious  and  last 
ing  results  for  time  and  eternity.  The  pupils  are 


328          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

not  all  equally  bright  in  their  studies,  but  they 
all  do  fairly  well,  and  in  behavior  make  a  very 
good  impression  on  anybody,  who  perchance 
should  step  into  the  school-room.  They  are  all 
fairly  efficient  in  learning  to  read  and  write,  and 
quite  so  to  draw  pictures.  Some  of  them  are 
real  artists.  Our  Mission  School  being  a  Day 
School,  the  children  go  home  for  their  meals, 
and  in  the  evening  for  lodging.  For  the  sake  of 
their  health  and  cleanliness  and  to  make  it  bear 
able  for  the  teacher  to  be  with  them  all  day  in 
the  school-room,  they  are  provided  with  the 
most  necessary  clothing  and  are  required  to 
wash  themselves  every  day  in  the  school  lava 
tory,  and  are  given  a  bath  and  change  of  under 
wear  once  a  week.  Their  book-learning,  their 
cleansing,  their  discipline  and  their  instruction 
in  spiritual  things  all  have  their  importance  for 
the  making  of  their  future.  May  the  Lord  bless 
that  work  unto  their  eternal  salvation. 

The  Matron  looks  after  the  cleanliness  of  these 
children  in  our  Mission  School  as  has  already 
been  mentioned,  and  she  also,  with  the  help  of 
the  older  pupils,  washes  and  mends  their  clothes. 
She  teaches  the  girls  to  darn  the  stockings 
and  sew  by  hand  and  on  the  machine.  Her  work, 
like  that  of  the  teacher,  is  to  give  instruction,  but 
more  in  an  industrial  line.  She  can,  however, 
not  always  be  busy  with  this  work,  as  the  chil 
dren  have  their  time  to  be  in  school,  and  there 
fore  goes  out  into  the  village  a  few  afternoons 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         3.9 

each  week  to  call  on  the  English-speaking  wo 
men  to  bring  them  the  message  of  salvation.  She 
reports  having  met  with  all  kinds  of  experiences, 
pleasant  and  unpleasant.  At  one  place  she  is 
accepted  with  the  greatest  courtesy  and  friendli 
ness  that  anybody  could  ever  expect,  and  at  an 
other  place  the  people  shut  and  lock  the  door  in 
her  face,  or  if  permitted  to  enter,  they  do  not 
speak  a  single  word  to  her.  All  her  visits  in  the 
village,  however,  are  not  so  discouraging.  Many 
a  time  she  finds  women  ready  to  listen  to  her 
talks  and  readings  about  the  Gospel  story.  She 
often  carries  with  her  very  easy  reading-matter, 
as  for  instance  a  Story  of  the  Bible  with  some 
pictures  and  a  few  tracts,  making  it  her  object 
to  read  to  them.  Often  she  has  tried  to  per 
suade  the  young  Indian  women  to  come  to  Sun 
day  school  or  church,  but  they  have  always  made 
good  promises,  but  which  they  failed  to  fulfill. 
May  the  good  Lord,  who  has  every  human  heart 
in  His  hand,  turn  them  unto  His  own  worship 
and  service.  Let  us  pray  for  that.  Let  us  look 
for  that.  Let  us  work  for  that  and  let  us  keep 
up  courage,  with  that  in  view.  It  is  the  Lord's 
work,  and  we  are  His  servants  with  the  privilege 
to  do  it  for  Him. 

The  position  of  the  Assistant  Missionay  calls 
him  to  make  it  his  business  to  befriend  the  Zuni 
young  men  and  lead  them  to  the  Saviour.  He 
calls  on  them  in  the  village,  makes  himself  a 
companion  to  them  and  receives  them  in  a  room 


330          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

which  is  always  kept  open  for  that  purpose  in 
the  old  Zuni  mission  parsonage,  and  which  is 
called  the  Zuni  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Reading-room.  Here 
is  where  the  Zuni  young  men  can  spend  their 
long  winter  evenings  in  reading  newspapers, 
magazines  and  Christian  literature,  and  in  social 
chats  and  games.  The  Assistant  Missionary  sees 
to  it  that  the  boys  conduct  themselves  orderly 
and  welcomes  them  to  the  place.  Here  he  often 
has  the  opportunity  to  read  and  talk  to  them 
about  things  most  needful  for  the  life  to  come, 
and  preach  the  way  of  life  to  them.  When  they 
are  away  from  home,  at  school  or  work,  he 
keeps  in  touch  with  them  by  correspondence. 
The  last  couple  of  years  he  kept  up  religious  in 
struction  with  about  thirty  of  them  by  mail.  We 
try  to  stay  with  these  young  Zunies  until  they 
will  be  ready  to  take  a  leading  place  among 
their  people  in  the  room  of  the  present  old 
leaders.  If  we,  by  the  grace  of  God,  can  hold 
the  confidence  of  the  present  young  people,  we 
have  in  an  ordinary  course  of  events  their  good 
will  assured  in  the  future.  May  the  good  Lord 
bless  our  efforts  to  that  effect. 

At  present  the  position  of  Assistant  Missionary 
here  in  Zuni  is  vacant,  and  that  work  is  not  at 
tended  to  as  it  should  be.  Mr.  M.  Van  der  Beek 
has  resigned  to  take  up  work  in  Albuquerque 
and  Santa  Fe,  N.  M.,  as  Religious  Director  at  two 
Government  Indian  Boarding  Schools,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Home  Missions  Council,  a 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         331 

federation  of  various  Protestant  Churches,  with 
its  headquarters  in  New  York.  We  are  glad  to 
have  one  of  our  own  men  in  that  position,  as 
he  can  and  will  naturally  look  after  the  inter 
ests  of  our  Indian  boys  and  girls  at  those  schools. 
The  Missionary  is  in  charge  of  the  whole  mis 
sion  field  and  looks  after  the  work  and  interests 
of  all  the  other  workers.  He  is  the  governing 
head.  With  him  the  helpers  confer  about  their 
work,  and  he  attends  to  it  that  every  part  of  the 
work  is  sufficiently  supplied  and  arranged,  to 
be  most  effectively  done.  To  him  the  children 
in  our  Mission  School  are  sent  for  discipline,  and 
the  parents  come  to  him  if  they  desire  to  have 
a  child  taken  up  in  School  or  if  they  have  an 
excuse  to  ask  or  complaint  to  make. 

He  corresponds  with  the  supporters  of  the 
School,  and  renders  a  financial  statement  of  the 
Mission  in  Zuni  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Mission 
Board  and  the  Classis  of  Muskegon  about  every 
other  month,  and  a  report  each  month.  The  old 
Indians  often  come  to  see  him  at  the  parsonage 
for  advice  in  secular  matters,  and  that  often 
gives  him  a  coveted  opportunity  to  bring  them 
the  Gospel  message.  They  come  to  him  with 
their  troubles  and  for  advice  and  information 
about  things  that  worry  them.  These  poor  ig 
norant  Indians  are  very  superstitious,  and  sights 
like  the  Northern  lights  or  the  eclipse  of  sun 
or  moon  trouble  them  as  omens  of  something 
horrible  to  happen.  The  opinion  of  the  Mis- 


332          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

sionary  seems  to  quiet  them.  Sometimes  they 
come  with  their  family  troubles,  and  the  Mis 
sionary  is  asked  to  attempt  a  settlement  or  to 
advise  in  the  matter,  or  they  may  be  worried 
about  their  children,  who  are  away  from  home 
and  do  not  return.  There  are  a  half  dozen  Zuni 
young  men  away,  who  have  not  been  home  for 
several  years.  Two  are  at  present  in  Indianap 
olis,  one  in  Kansas  City,  another  in  Los  Angeles, 
and  others  in  unknown  places,  of  whom  the 
parents  or  relatives  or  friends  seldom  or  never 
hear.  They  therefore  come  to  the  Missionary 
for  information  or  to  have  him  write  a  letter 
for  them.  From  all  these  things  it  is  evident 
that  our  Mission  in  Zuni  is  gradually  gaining 
in  influence  and  confidence. 

Further  the  Missionary  makes  it  his  business 
to  talk  with  old  and  young  wherever  he  meets 
them  on  the  street,  in  the  stores  and  upon  his 
visits  in  their  homes.  He  has  often  called  on 
the  sick  to  talk  to  them  and  to  pray  with  them,, 
kneeling  beside  their  bed  on  the  floor,  or  where 
a  dear  relative  of  the  family  had  passed  away 
he  has  talked  to  those  present  to  bring  them  the 
message  of  truth,  directing  them  to  the  only 
Comforter  and  Saviour.  The  Zunies  have  their 
own  medicine  men  and  women,  and  with  their 
medical  practice  these  also  believe  in  the  efficacy 
of  prayer.  They  are  therefore,  as  a  rule,  in  sick 
ness  or  death,  quite  willing  to  have  the  mis 
sionary  pray  for  them.  On  his  visits  in  their 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         333 

homes  he  has  always  been  accepted  .and  treated 
with  courtesy  and  friendship.  If  he  would  try 
to  tell  them  the  Gospel  story,  they  often  would 
listen  silently  or  say  eyah,  eyah,  tee,  hai,  and 
further  give  no  response.  They  always  seem  to 
be  glad  to  see  him  come  in,  and  offer  him  a  chair 
or  a  box  to  sit  down  and  are  willing  to  listen  to 
what  he  has  to  say,  but  from  their  entire  dis 
position  it  is  evident  that  they  as  yet  hold  to 
their  own  pagan  belief,  and  go  on  with  their 
idol  worship.  The  longer  we  associate  and  deal 
with  them  in  trying  to  bring  them  the  Gospel, 
the  more  we  are  convinced  that  never  a  Zuni,  as 
well  as  any  other  sinner,  will  be  drawn  from 
the  darkness  of  sin  to  the  marvelous  light  of 
God's  grace  in  Christ  Jesus  without  the  mighty 
operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  his  heart.  He 
must  be  born  again,  and  it  is  our  mighty  Lord 
that  must  do  it.  Let  us  therefore  pray  as  well  as 
work  for  it.  We  as  Christians  often  expect  too 
much  of  our  own  efforts  and  forget  that  we  are 
doing  the  Lord's  work  and  that  it  is  a  privilege 
extended  by  Him  to  us  to  do  it  for  Him.  By 
prayer  we  keep  in  touch  with  our  Master  and 
abide  in  His  Word,  and  have  His  encouraging 
and  strengthening  influence.  As  prayer  without 
work  availeth  nothing,  so  work  without  prayer 
is  also  ineffective  and  cannot  but  lead  to  great 
discouragement.  Let  us  therefore  pray  and 
work,  and  work  and  pray,  for  a  Missionary  has 
often  patient  waiting  to  practice  in  the  Lord's 


334          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

service,  as  the  Master  will  set  His  own  time  to 
bless  the  means  of  grace  for  the  conversion  of 
sinners. 

The  Zunies  seemingly  pray  with  all  they  do, 
but  their  prayer  has  no  meaning  to  them,  be 
cause  it  is  for  them  a  mere  ceremony  and  form 
which  has  been  handed  down  from  their  ances 
tors  by  the  parents  to  the  children,  and  is  an  end 
less  repetition  of  a  few  sentences  used  by  them  as 
a  mystic  charm.  They  do  not  know  themselves 
what  they  are  praying  for,  and  in  many  in 
stances  do  not  even  know  the  meaning  of  the 
words  they  are  saying.  The  more  curious  their 
symbolization  is  in  their  religious  ceremonies, 
the  more  it  seems  to  interest  their  pagan  heart 
and  mind.  For  hours  at  a  time  these  poor  people 
can  stand  in  and  around  the  sacred  court  in  the 
center  of  the  village  to  watch  the  performances 
of  those  Zunies  who  have  dressed  themselves  to 
represent  certain  gods.  Our  gospel  preaching 
and  religious  services  do  not  seem  interesting 
to  them,  especially  to  the  older  people,  because 
of  its  lack  of  symbolism.  Their  undeveloped 
mind  as  yet  can  not  catch  and  understand  the 
preciousness  of  the  words  and  thoughts  brought 
in  the  message  of  the  Gospel  truth.  We  there 
fore  aim  to  follow  the  command  of  our  Master 
when  He  says:  "Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all 
nations"  making  disciples  of  them,  and  we  un 
derstand  that  teaching  is  different  from  preach 
ing,  as  it  requires  more  time  and  effort  and 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         335 

patience  to  bring  the  truth  home  to  them  for 
whom  it  is  intended. 

We  are  therefore  doing  our  most  effective 
work  in  Zuni  by  giving  religious  instruction  to 
the  young  Zunies  in  the  three  schools,  with  a 
regular  attendance  of  three  hundred  pupils. 
These  children  are  divided  into  ten  Bible  classes 
and  receive  instruction  once,  and  some  twice, 
a  week  during  their  school-term.  For  the  be 
ginners  the  Missionary  uses  Borstius'  Primer  of 
Bible  Truths,  for  the  middle  or  intermediate 
classes,  Sacred  History  for  Juniors,  and  for  the 
advanced,  Sacred  History  for  Seniors,  as  hand 
books.  The  instruction  of  the  very  first  begin 
ners  is  conducted  very  much  like  parents  have 
to  do  at  home  with  their  little  ones.  It  is,  for 
the  Missionary,  an  endless  repetition  of  the 
same  short  sentences  over  and  over  again  until 
they  have  memorized  the  Gospel  truths.  In  this 
way  they  learn  to  pray  a  little  morning  and 
evening  prayer,  and  also  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
and  to  repeat  the  Apostle's  Creed,  the  Twenty- 
third  Psalm,  and  the  older  ones,  the  Ten  Com 
mandments.  The  more  advanced  pupils  under 
stand  English  and  are  lectured  to  according  to 
the  handbook  followed  for  instruction.  In  this 
work  the  Missionary  is  assisted  by  his  Assistant 
because  he  is  required  to  take  two  classes  at  the 
same  hour  in  order  not  to  interfere  with  their 
regular  school  work.  Our  time  for  religious  in 
struction  is  arranged  with  the  superintendent  or 


336          BRINGING       THE       GOS?EL 

principal  of  each  school.  We  have  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  conducting  this  religious  instruction 
for  over  ten  years,  and  as  yet  it  has  not  been 
interfered  with  by  any  other  Church.  The  re 
sults  of  this  work,  with  the  blessings  from  on 
high,  cannot  fail  to  come,  as  these  young  people 
are  in  the  ordinary  course  of  time  most  certain 
to  grow  up  to  manhood  and  womanhood,  and 
then  will  take  the  place  of  the  present  leaders, 
and  under  the  Providence  of  God  advance  their 
influence  according  to  the  ideas  they  imbibed  at 
school  about  secular  and  sacred  things.  Let  us 
remember  this  branch  of  the  work  in  our  daily 
prayers. 

Besides  following  the  Lord's  command  by 
teaching  these  Indians  in  Bible  classes,  we  try  to 
influence  them  by  conducting  Sunday  schools. 
In  our  Mission  Day  School  we  have  a  gathering 
of  about  fifty  children  every  Sunday  morning. 
This  school  is  divided  into  three  classes,  taught 
by  the  Missionary  and  his  helpers.  During  the 
week  the  children  memorize  the  golden  text  in 
school,  and  on  Sunday  morning  they  repeat  it 
after  rising  from  their  seats.  They  master  this 
portion  of  the  Word  of  God  wonderfully  well, 
and  are  able  quite  well  to  retain  it  in  their  mem 
ory  for  some  time.  May  the  Lord  bless  this  good 
work  unto  the  hearts  of  these  young  Zunies  so 
that  they  may  soon  turn  unto  Him  to  seek  and 
find  life  eternal  thru  faith  in  the  only  name  given 
under  heaven  by  which  we  can  be  saved.  The 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         337 

Government  employees  at  the  Government  In 
dian  Boarding  School  conduct  a  Sunday  school 
with  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  pupils  at 
tending,  and  they  use  our  Sunday  school 
supplies. 

On  .Sunday  evening  our  Missionary  has  the 
privilege  to  preach  at  the  Black  Rock  Indian 
Boarding  School  about  four  miles  east  of  the 
Zuni  village,  with  the  majority  of  the  Govern 
ment  employees  attending  to  help  in  keeping 
order  and  to  conduct  the  music.  This  is  as  a 
rule  a  very  interesting  meeting,  and  affords  the 
Missionary  and  his  helpers,  who  often  accom 
pany  him  thither,  much  pleasure  and  encour 
agement.  The  Gospel  is  brought  there  to  the 
Zuni  young  people  as  simple  and  comprehensible 
as  possible.  That  those  talks  on  Sunday  evening 
make  some  impression  on  those  youthful  In 
dian  minds  is  evinced  by  the  questions  the  chil 
dren  ask  the  teachers  during  the  week  about 
what  was  said  on  Sunday  evening.  So  we  may 
feel  quite  confident  that  our  preaching  is  heard 
and  understood,  if  not  by  all,  at  any  rate  by 
some  of  the  young  Indians  and  the  Gospel  ac 
cepted  for  reflection  during  the  week.  May  the 
Lord  also  abundantly  bless  this  work  for  the 
coming  of  His  Kingdom  in  Zuni. 

Every  Sunday  afternoon  we  as  missionaries 
gather  for  religious  worship,  principally  for  our 
own  spiritual  uplift  and  encouragement.  This 
meeting  is  sometimes  attended  by  white  people 


338          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

living  around  us  in  Zuni,  and  also  now  and 
then  by  a  few  Indians.  The  white  people  here 
in  general  have  come  to  dwell  amongst  the  In 
dians  to  make  money  and  accumulate  wealth  by 
trade,  and  take  no  interest  in  religion  or  mission 
work.  When  we  are  gathered  for  worship  the 
Indians  often  have  a  dance  in  the  village  and 
draw  a  crowd  of  their  own  people  around  them. 
They  always  seem  to  prefer  the  Sundays  for 
their  religious  ceremonies,  dances,  festivities, 
and  sports  in  order  to  keep  their  people  away 
from  the  mission.  The  old  leaders  do  all  that  is 
within  their  power  to  uphold  their  heathen  wor 
ship  in  order  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the 
mission.  But,  believe  me,  dear  mission  friend, 
we  are  persuaded  that  they  are  playing  a  losing 
game.  They  are  losing  hold  on  the  coming  gen 
eration  and  they  begin  to  feel  it  quite  strongly. 
Hence  their  struggle  against  the  influence  of  the 
Gospel,  and  their  enthusiasm  in  their  paganistic 
worship.  The  number  of  the  old  leaders  in 
their  idol  worship  is,  from  year  to  year,  getting 
smaller  and  the  people  are  gradually  losing  in 
terest  in  their  heathen  ceremonies  and  feasts. 
The  Shalico,  for  instance,  which  has  been  their 
most  prominent  feast  for  ages  in  the  past,  and 
which  has  been  celebrated  with  great  enthu 
siasm,  is  gradually  losing  in  interest.  Quite  a 
number  of  the  Zunies  now  refuse  to  receive  the 
Shalicoes  in  their  house  or  to  remodel  or  to 
build  a  new  house  for  the  celebration  of  this  an- 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        339 

nual  feast.  It  means  too  much  of  an  expense 
for  the  most  of  them,  and  they  who  have  made 
preparation  for  the  Shalico  in  the  past,  have  lost 
nearly  all  of  the  little  possessions  they  did  have. 
But  the  fact  of  the  whole  matter  is  that  they  are 
losing  interest  in  their  old  heathen  ceremonies, 
that  is,  enough  interest  to  refuse  to  spend  as 
much  of  their  earnings  as  is  required  to  uphold 
that  old  religious  feast  according  to  its  former 
dignity.  Many  of  the  old-time  ceremonies  and 
religious  dances  have  long  ago  disappeared  be 
cause,  as  the  Zunies  claim,  their  leaders  have 
died  and  there  is  nobody  left  to  take  their  place 
and  continue  the  rite. 

In  this  sense  our  work  here  in  Zuni  is  slowly 
but  surely  progressing  and  we  are  encouraged 
with  the  thought  that  we  are  serving  an  Omnis 
cient,  Omnipotent  and  Merciful  Lord,  Who  per 
mits  us  to  do  His  work  although  He  does  not 
need  our  help  and  can  easily  accomplish  His 
purpose  without  us.  We  consider  it  a  privilege 
to  be  permitted  to  do  His  work.  We  are  per 
suaded  that  He  will  take  care  of  His  own,  so  that 
our  labors  here  in  Zuni  as  well  as  elsewhere  will 
not  be  in  vain.  We  are  confident  also  according 
to  the  testimony  of  God's  own  Word,  that  not 
one  of  His  elected  children  will  be  lost.  It 
takes  the  grace  of  God  thru  faith  in  Jesus  Christ 
to  save  a  soul  from  eternal  damnation,  and  it  is 
the  same  grace  that  saves  us  all,  but  we  all  do 
not  require  an  equal  amount  of  it.  Our  merci- 


340          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

ful  God  and  Father  does  not  require  of  the  blind 
and  ignorant  heathen  what  He  does  of  a  civi 
lized  and  well-enlightened  person  who  is  born 
and  lives  in  the  light  of  God's  countenance  in  a 
Christian  community,  or  who  has  Christian  par 
ents  and  lives  and  dies  under  Christian  influence. 
From  what  we  have  seen  here  in  Zuni  by  our 
visits  in  their  homes,  at  their  sickbeds,  and 
deathbeds,  in  Bible  classes  and  Sunday  school, 
we  are  much  encouraged  to  believe  and  expect 
that  we  shall  meet  some  Zunies  in  heaven  who 
will  there  testify  that  they  are  saved  by  grace 
thru  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Eternity  will  cer 
tainly  reveal  in  full  the  fruits  of  our  labors  here, 
and  we  shall  have  every  reason  to  forever  thank 
and  p arise  our  Lord  and  Savior  with  those 
whom  He  permitted  us  to  lead  to  Him. 

Please,  reader,  remember  our  Zuni  Mission  in 
your  daily  prayers,  that  the  bulwark  of  Satan 
in  Zuni  may  soon  fall,  that  many  of  these  poor, 
ignorant  and  blind  Indians  may  be  turned  from 
the  darkness  of  heathendom  to  the  light  of  God's 
grace,  that  our  Lord  may  have  a  church  estab 
lished  here  where  at  present  Satan  dwells,  and 
that  His  great  Name  be  glorified  and  we,  His 
servants,  be  encouraged  in  the  work.  It  is  His 
work  to  convert  the  soul.  It  is  His  power  to 
overcome  the  devil.  It  is  His  Spirit  to  establish 
His  Church.  Let  us  therefore  pray  for  it  and  do 
all  we  can  with  the  goods,  energy,  talents  and 
wisdom  God  has  given  us  to  help  bring  it  about, 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        341 

and  we  shall  then  be  able  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord's 
doing  forever  and  ever  and  glory  in  His  coming 
back  on  earth  to  take  unto  Himself  His  own  in 
glory.  After  work  will  come  our  rest.  After  our 
battles  we  shall  enjoy  the  victory  and  receive  the 
crown  of  glory,  which  shall  never  be  taken  from 
us.  Let  us  therefore  continue  in  our  work  and 
prayer  for  the  Master  Whom  we  love  and  serve. 


342          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

XVI. 
NON-RESERVATION  SCHOOLS 

WHEN  WE  SET  ourselves  to  study  the  Indian 
and  his  opportunities  for  education,  we 
should  not  overlook  these  Non-Reservation 
Schools  provided  and  supported  by  our  Govern 
ment.  In  response  to  our  inquiry,  the  Depart 
ment  of  the  Interior  informed  us  that  there  were 
seventeen  such  schools,  giving  us  their  names 
and  locations.  A  report  on  Indian  Missions  to 
the  Home  Missions  Council  in  1918  gives  the 
number  as  twenty-five,  although  it  only  men 
tions  seventeen  by  name,  with  an  enrollment  of 
8,566.  There  seems  to  be  a  little  discrepancy  in 
this  matter,  therefore,  and  we  account  for  it  by 
taking  it  for  granted  that  the  Department  of  the 
Interior  mentions  only  those  schools  which  are 
entirely  under  the  supervision  of  the  Govern 
ment,  and  that  some  of  the  twenty-five  men 
tioned  in  the  Indian  Report  of  the  Home  Mis 
sions  Council  are  either  partly  or  wholly  sup 
ported  by  private  initiative. 

We  were  also  informed  that  all  Indians  boys 
and  girls  who  are  of  one-fourth  or  more  Indian 
blood,  and  whose  parents  are  not  citizens  of  the 
United  States  and  the  State  in  which  they  live, 
and  who  do  not  have  public  school  facilities 
near  their  homes,  are  admitted  to  these  schools, 
but  they  are  required,  in  most  cases,  to  attend 
the  school  nearest  their  home  which  carries  the 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO        343 

course  of  study  they  desire  to  pursue.  The 
schools  of  this  character  in  which  we  as  a 
Church  are  and  should  be  more  particularly  in 
terested,  are  those  at  Santa  Fe  and  Albuquerque, 
N.  M.,  and  the  Sherman  Institute  at  Riverside, 
Calif.  Our  particular  interest  in  these,  and  also 
the  one  at  Phoenix,  Arizona,  to  a  certain  extent, 
is  effected  by  the  fact  that  it  is  to  these  schools 
that  our  brightest  Navaho  and  Zuni  boys  and 
girls  are  sent  for  higher  education  and  broader 
training. 

Naturally  it  has  often  proved  a  sore  disap 
pointment  to  our  Missionaries  at  Crown  Point, 
Toadlena,  Tohatchi,  and  Zuni,  that  their  pupils, 
just  when  they  were  beginning  to  understand, 
and  consequently  beginning  to  take  a  deeper  in 
terest  in  the  religious  instruction  given  them, 
were  removed  beyond  their  reach  by  being 
transferred  to  one  of  the  above  mentioned 
schools.  Ah !  to  be  sure,  the  Missionary  was  de 
lighted  to  think  that  his  brightest  boys  and  girls 
were  going  to  have  an  opportunity  for  further 
development  in  the  lines  of  education  and  in 
dustrial  training,  but  he  could  not  stifle  the  fear 
that  in  the  process  they  might  lose  the  knowl 
edge  of  the  truth  and  of  the  "Jesus  Way"  which 
he,  with  so  much  prayer  and  patience,  by  the 
grace  of  God  had  been  privileged  to  instill  in 
their  hearts  while  under  his  religious  care  and 
instruction.  It  has  happened  again  and  again 
that  some  boys  and  girls  had  plead  to  be  bap- 


344          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

tized  and  received  into  the  Christian  communion, 
but  the  Missionary  hesitated,  believing  it  to  be 
for  their  good  to  wait  a  little  longer  in  order  that 
they  might  become  better  founded  in  the  truths 
of  the  Christian  religion,  and  then  unexpectedly 
by  Government  order  these  very  pupils  were 
transferred  to  one  of  these  non-reservation 
schools  beyond  his  personal  reach  and  instruc 
tion.  How  his  heart  burned  for  them,  and  if  the 
way  had  been  open,  he  undoubtedly  would  have 
rather  followed  them  than  to  remain  at  his 
lonely  post  and  begin  over  again  with  the  little 
ones  brought  in  from  the  camps  to  take  the  place 
of  those  transferred.  I  am  sure  we  can  all  feel 
the  keen  disappointment  of  our  Missionaries  in 
this  matter,  and  can  only  hope  with  them  that 
thru  a  regular  and  systematic  correspondence 
with  these  absent  ones,  they  may  keep  them  in 
terested  and  faithful  unitl  they  return  to  the 
Reservation. 

Now,  however,  a  change  is  being  brought 
about,  as  far  as  religious  instruction  is  con 
cerned  at  these  non-reservation  schools.  The  In 
dian  Committee  of  the  Home  Missions  Council, 
of  which  our  Dr.  H.  Beets  is  also  a  member,  has 
taken  this  matter  in  hand  and  appointments  of 
Religious  Directors  at  these  schools  are  mede. 
Of  course,  this  is  an  Interdenominational,  work, 
for  pupils  of  almost  every  mission  field  are 
found  in  these  schools.  Practically  every  de 
nomination  that  carries  on  work  among  the  In- 


IN       II  0  G  A  N       AND       PUEBLO         345 

dians  is  represented  by  some  children.  Conse 
quently  these  Religious  Directors  must  also  be 
drawn  from  the  various  Churches.  Our  Mr.  M. 
Van  der  Beek,  formerly  a  boys'  worker  at  Zuni, 
was  appointed  such  a  Director  at  the  two 
schools,  one  at  Albuquerque  and  one  at  Santa 
Fe,  N.  M.  He  gives  us  a  description  of  the  work 
done  at  these  schools  in  the  brief  article  which 
follows.  That  his  is  a  responsible  and  a  most 
important  position  must  be  realized  by  all. 

At  Riverside,  a  little  town  in  southern  Cali 
fornia,  we  find  what  is  known  as  the  Sherman 
Institute,  one  of  the  largest  and  best  equipped 
of  all  non-reservation  schools.  This  Institute 
and  the  work  done  there  is  known  far  and  wide 
among  the  Western  Indian  tribes.  Its  results 
verily  enter  every  region  of  red  life,  from  the 
salmon  canneries  of  the  great  Columbia  River, 
to  the  painted  desert  of  Arizona,  but,  strange  to 
say,  the  white  man  in  general  has  no  knowledge 
of  it.  This  is  because  this  school  does  not  send 
out  propaganda  literature,  its  records  of 
achievement  lie  buried  in  the  dry  and  dusty  Gov 
ernment  reports,  perused  and  read  by  very  few; 
but  the  fruits  and  blessings  of  the  work  itself  are 
found  in  the  homes  and  cradles  of  the  red  race; 
consequently  this  great  work  is  really  known  to 
those  only  whom  it  benefits. 

This  school,  now  more  than  twenty-five  years 
old,  with  its  numerous  buildings,  magnificent 
gardens,  campus,  and  farm,  lies  in  the  heart  of 


346          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

orange  groves,  with  snow-capped  and  sun- 
flooded  mountains  grouping  their  strength 
around  it.  Here,  in  this  splendid  gift  of  the 
white  race  to  the  red,  the  Indian  youth  of  more 
than  fifty  different  tribes  are  taught  the  higher 
things  of  life.  The  boy  is  taught  a  trade,  to  take 
care  of  land,  the  maintenance  and  upkeep  of  his 
future  home.  He  is  also  taught  the  meaning  of 
a  home,  and  the  co-operation  of  the  sexes,  some 
thing  in  which  Indian  life  is  usually  lacking.  He 
is  therefore  taught  the  man's  duty  in  every 
sphere  of  life  and  activity.  The  girl,  to  fit  her 
for  domestic  efficiency,  is  first  of  all  taught  to 
sew  and  mend.  Her  days  really  alternate  be 
tween  the  school-room  and  the  work-room;  on 
one  day  she  may  be  taught  how  to  conjugate  a 
verb,  and  on  the  following  one  how  to  dress  and 
care  for  a  baby.  In  a  big  sunny  room,  filled  with 
sewing  machines,  work-tables,  etc.,  the  Crow 
maiden  of  Montana,  the  Navaho,  Hopi,  and  Zuni 
girls  of  New  Mexico,  the  little  Winnebago  lass 
from  Nebraska,  stand  side  by  side  with  many 
others  of  different  tribe  and  lineage,  learning 
the  complete  trade  of  dress-making,  etc.  Things 
which  their  mothers  are  not  able  to  teach  them, 
but  which  they  will  most  certainly  teach  their 
children. 

Besides  dress-making,  the  girl  is  taught  cook 
ing,  cleanliness  in  the  preparation  and  care  of 
food  material,  the  need  for  clean  utensils  and 
good  ventilation  in  the  home,  the  relation  of 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         347 

health  to  nourishing  food,  and  what  effective 
agents  these  things  are  in  combating  disease. 
Housekeeping  is  another  branch  of  domestic 
science  that  is  taught,  with  the  great  dormitories 
for  demonstrating  purposes.  Nothing  is  elab 
orate,  but  everything  is  thoroughly  practical.  In 
the  laundry  building  they  are  trained  in  this  line 
of  domestic  competency.  But  now  it  may  seem 
useless  to  some  of  us  to  teach  the  Indian  youth 
these -various  branches  of  domestic  science,  and 
then  when  they  graduate  send  them  back  to  the 
desert  and  Reservation,  where  the  facilities  of 
Sherman  Institute  are  unknown  and  undreamed 
of,  and  where  everything  must  of  very  necessity 
be  done  in  the  most  primitive  ways.  Ah!  this 
would  be  only  too  true  if  it  were  not  a  fact  that 
at  this  Institute  stress  and  emphasis  is  laid  upon 
this  very  thing.  They  learn,  thru  special  instruc 
tion  and  in  special  classes,  to  do  all  these  various 
things  as  they  will  have  to  do  them  in  their  home 
environment.  Except  in  a  few  localities,  the 
average  Indian  home  is  a  blank,  its  mother  is  a 
drudge,  its  children  merely  exist,  and  therefore 
the  Sherman  Institute,  by  precept  and  example, 
sends  into  thousands  of  these  homes,  by  means 
of  its  graduates,  light  and  ambition  to  have 
things  different  and  better. 

Another  remarkable  and  important  feature  of 
this  Institute  is  the  hospital.  The  girls  are 
trained  in  extremely  practical  hygiene  and  nurs 
ing  and  are  shown  how  to  prevent  diseases 


348          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

among  their  people.  These  gentle-voiced  and 
silent-footed  Indian  nurses  give  ministrations 
just  as  tender  and  soothing  as  those  of  their 
v/hite  sisters. 

On  the  ranch,  four  miles  from  the  Institute 
campus,  the  girls  are  shown  and  taught  the  care 
of  a  dairy,  the  raising  of  poultry,  and  other  wo 
man's  work  about  the  farm.  And  all  this  is 
work,  real  work,  earnest  wrork,  for  life  with  an 
Indian  woman,  is  a  serious  business,  devoid  of 
much  of  the  sociability  and  recreation  which 
her  white  sister  enjoys. 

It  will  have  been  understood  from  the  fore 
going  that  this  school  is  to  a  great  extent  self- 
supporting.  The  tailor  shop  and  dressmaking 
department  turns  out  the  neat-appearing  uni 
forms  with  which  all  are  clothed,  the  hospital 
takes  care  of  the  sick,  the  ranch  and  gardens 
provide  for  the  kitchen,  the  laundry  and 
print  shop  command  their  own  departments. 
And  to  teach  the  pupils  to  earn  and  save  money 
for  themselves,  they  are  able,  by  means  of  the 
outing  system,  to  secure  positions  during  vaca 
tions  and  are  required  to  save  two-thirds  of  their 
wages.  In  this  way  they  are  able  to  earn  thou 
sands  of  dollars  annually. 

This  is  surely  enough  about  the  school  itself, 
to  give  everyone  a  little  idea  of  the  institution, 
although  much  more  might  be  said,  for  in  one 
word,  it  is  a  wonderful  place  to  visit  and  should 
be  known  to  all  our  people  as  well  as  to  the  In- 


,       IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO        349 

dians,  in  order  that  the  two  races  may  come  to  a 
better  mutual  appreciation. 

Now  as  to  the  religious  instruction  at  the  Insti 
tute.  According  to  our  Rev.  L.  P.  Brink  in  The 
Banner  of  May  26, 1921,  the  Roman  Catholics  are 
simply  putting  the  Protestants  to  shame.  May 
it  not  continue  thus!  The  Indian  Committee  of 
the  Home  Missions  Council  has  appointed  a  Rev. 
Mr.  Vennink  as  Religious  Director.  He  is  of  the 
Congregational  Church,  and  according  to  reports 
a  man  well-fitted  and  equipped  for  the  position 
Our  Church  also  gladly  helps  to  support  this 
work,  but  because  of  the  great  number  of  Nav- 
aho  boys  and  girls  at  the  Institute,  the  Board 
feels  inclined  to  offer  to  pay  the  full  salary  of  the 
worker  if  he  be  chosen  from  among  our  men. 
In  the  meantime,  it  seems  to  us  that  our  church 
at  Redlands,  Calif.,  might  do  a  very  good  piece 
of  work  by  regularly  visiting  this  Institute  and 
by  getting  in  touch  with  the  boys  and  girls  that 
come  from  the  several  mission  stations  of  our 
Church.  If  the  Missionaries  would  send  a  list  of 
the  boys  and  girls  from  their  districts  that  have 
been  transferred  to  Riverside,  to  the  Redland's 
consistory,  I  am  sure  these  good  brethren  would 
be  glad  to  arrange  for  the  above  mentioned  visi 
tation.  We  know  at  least  one  man  in  the  Red- 
lands  church  whose  heart  and  soul  is  in  the  In 
dian  work  and  who  loves  the  Navaho  boys  and 
girls,  and  I  am  sure  he  would  be  glad  to  do  this 
wrork. 


350          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

These  non-reservation  schools  are  indeed  crit 
ical  places  for  the  future  of  our  Indian  work, 
and  if  anywhere  then  just  here  our  best  men 
should  be  employed,  our  best  efforts  put  forth 
and  our  best  talents  expended. 


RELIGIOUS   WORK   IN   NON-RESERVATION 
SCHOOLS 


By  M.  VAN  DER  BEEK 

HTHERE  IS  MUCH  to  be  said  regarding  the 
1  work  done  in  non-reservation  Government 
schools.  They  are  splendidly  equipped  and 
draw  pupils  from  every  part  of  the  country, 
some  schools  having  as  many  as  fifty  tribes  rep 
resented.  The  pupils  in  these  schools  have 
greater  opportunities  to  "make  good"  than  those 
in  the  Government  schools  on  the  Reservations, 
because  here  they  are  removed  from  the  influ 
ences  of  their  own  people  and  the  paganism  of 
their  tribe.  Here  they  are  to  some  extent  at 
least  in  a  Christian  community,  many  of  the 
people  with  whom  they  come  in  contact  being 
Christian  people. 

At  these  schools,  especially  with  the  new 
course  of  study  prescribed  by  the  Indian  Office, 
the  pupils  are  kept  busy  from  early  morning 
until  late  in  the  evening.  At  5 :  30  a.  m.  they  are 
summoned  by  the  call  of  the  bugle  to  arise.  At 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         351 

six  they  are  ready  for  their  early  morning  phys 
ical  exercices,  then,  breakfast,  school,  work,  din 
ner,  school  again,  work,  supper,  and  even  after 
that  there  is  still  much  to  be  done  such  as  band 
practice,  choir  practice,  school-work,  religious 
meetings,  etc.,  so  that  when  the  hands  of  the 
clock  point  to  nine,  every  boy  and  girl  is  more 
than  willing  to  rest  for  the  night. 

According  to  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the 
Indian  Office,  two  hours  per  week  are  allowed 
for  religious  instruction.  These  hours  must  be 
arranged  with  the  Superintendent  of  the  school. 
I  will  now  give  you  a  few  particulars  about  the 
religious  work  at  the  Albuquerque  school  where 
I  am  Religious  Director  to  the  Protestant  pupils. 
Religiously  the  school  is  divided  into  two  groups, 
namely,  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic.  Each 
of  these  groups  attend  their  respective  churches 
every  ,Sunday  morning  for  Sunday  school  as  well 
as  church  services. 

The  Protestant  boys  and  girls  attend  the 
Presbyterian  church,  the  school  providing  the 
necessary  conveyances.  Here  they  are  taught 
the  first  principles  of 'the  Christian  faith,  or  if 
they  have  previously  enjoyed  religious  instruc 
tion  at  a  Mission  School,  their  spiritual  life  is 
developed  and  strengthened.  That  they  are 
greatly  concerned  about  all  these  things  is  evi 
denced  by  their  intense  interest  when  attending 
the  services  in  the  house  of  God,  and  we  are 
reminded  of  the  saying  from  the  Book  we  love : 


352          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

"They  were  desirous  that  the  word  should  b^ 
spoken  unto  them." 

On  Wednesday  evening,  at  the  school,  a 
Y.  M.  G.  A.  meeting  is  held.  This  is  a  strictly  re 
ligious  service  something  similar  to  the  Young 
People's  Societies  in  our  Reformed  churches. 
This  meeting  is  conducted  by  the  Religious  Work 
Director,  who  acts  as  General  Secretary  of  this 
organization.  Attendance  at  these  meetings  is 
not  compulsory.  Being  a  Government  school, 
they  assume  no  responsibility  for  the  spiritual 
development  of  the  Indians  boys  and  girls  as 
they  come  from  the  Reservations.  This  is  in 
evitable  because  of  our  separation  of  Church 
and  State.  However,  spiritual  and  religious  in 
fluences  are  brought  to  bear  thru  the  agencies 
of  the  Church  and  the  Christian  Associations. 

Many  of  the  boys  that  belong  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
are  divided  into  small  groups,  called  the  "Inner 
Circle."  These  boys  have  promised  to  spend 
some  time  each  morning  and  evening  in  the 
study  of  God's  Word  and  in  prayer,  and  they  are 
especially  sincere  about  observing  the  "Morning 
Watch,"  realizing  at  least  in  a  measure  that  "a 
half  hour  each  morning  with  God  alone,  saves 
two  hours  of  confession  each  night."  These  meet 
ings  are  usually  conducted  with  great  success, 
principally  because  the  attendance  is  voluntary, 
and  also  because  the  boys  themselves  take  part. 
May  God  bless  this  work  which  is  done  by  the 
faithful  boys,  and  may  the  result  of  it  be  felt  by 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         353 

the  entire  school,  and  when  they  return  to  their 
Reservations  may  they  become  moral  and  relig 
ious  leaders  among  their  own  people. 

On  Friday  evening  there  is  a  meeting  with  the 
girls,  called  a  Y.  W.  G.  A..  All  that  has  been  said 
about  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  can  practically  be  applied 
to  the  Y.  W.  G.  A.,  both  organizations  having 
uniform  programs. 

On  Saturday  afternoon  an  hour  of  religious  in 
struction  is  given  to  the  Protestant  boys  and  girls 
in  The  Fundamentals  of  Christianity.  All  Prot 
estant  pupils  attend  these  meetings.  Here  they 
are  instructed  in  the  old-time  religion,  they  are 
pointed  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the 
sins  of  the  world.  Here  they  are  urged  to  ac 
cept  Christ,  and  here  they  receive  an  adequate 
understanding  of  what  the  "Jesus  Way"  really 
means. 

On  Sunday  evening  a  regular  religious  serv 
ice  is  conducted  at  the  school,  and  the  ministers 
from  the  different  churches  in  Albuquerque  are 
asked  to  address  the  audiences. 

The  work  is  very  pleasant  but  also  very  re 
sponsible.  The  students  come  to  us  with  their 
joys  as  well  as  their  sorrows,  their  trials  and 
temptations,  asking  our  guidance  and  our 
prayers.  Surely,  a  great  work,  to  be  the  instru 
ments  in  God's  hand  of  leading  boys  and  girls 
out  of  nature's  darkness  into  God's  wonderful 
light,  to  break  down  the  "Bulwarks  of  Satan," 


354          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

and  to. build  up  the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

By  the  help  and  grace  of  God  we  are  laying  a 
foundation  for  the  future,  we  sow  the  seed  and 
we  have  God's  own  promise  that  it  shall  not  be 
in  vain — "My  Word  will  never  (did  you  get  that 
word,  never)  return  unto  Me  void."  May  the 
prayers  of  God's  people  rise  up  in  great  volume 
for  these  hundreds  of  Indian  young  people  in 
the  non-reservation  Government  schools.  That 
there  may  be  a  real  spiritual  awakening  among 
them  and  a  genuine  consecration  to  the  cause 
of  Christ,  and  to  the  redeeming  of  their  own 
people. 

The  morning  light  is  breaking, 

The  darkness  disappears, 
The  Indians  are  awakening, 

To  penitential  tears, 
Each  breeze  that  sweeps  the  ocean, 

Brings  tidings  from  afar, 
Of  Indians  in  commotion, 

Prepared  for  Zion's  war. 

See  the  Indians  bending, 

Before  the  God  we  love, 
And  thousand  hearts  ascending 

In  gratitude  above; 
While  sinners  now  confessing, 

The  Gospel  call  obey, 
And  seek  the  Savior's  blessing 

A  nation  in  a  day. 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         355 

XVII. 
A  WORD  IN  CONCLUSION 

TV7E  ARE  very  happy  to  conclude  this  brief 
W  sketch  on  bringing  the  Gospel  in  Hogan 
and  Pueblo,  preaching  Jesus  to  Navaho  and 
Zuni,  with  the  statement  that  all  the  Protestant 
denominations  of  our  land  having  work  among 
the  Indians  are  co-operating  in  a  very  friendly 
and  harmonious  way  under  the  guidance  and 
direction  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Indian  Mis 
sions  of  the  Home  Missions  Council  and  the 
Council  of  Women  for  Home  Missions.  In  this 
way  the  Protestant  Churches  of  America  are 
maintaining  a  united  front,  and  by  bringing 
their  combined  influence  to  bear,  they  are  able 
to  accomplish  much,  both  in  a  negative  and  in  a 
positive  way.  In  a  negative  way  they,  by  pre 
senting  an  unbroken  phalanx,  are  able  to  pre 
vent  harmful  legislation  against  the  Indians,  and 
in  a  positive  way  the  fields  have  been  so  allo 
cated  by  mutual  agreements,  that  there  are  prac 
tically  no  cases  of  overlapping  and  consequent 
waste  of  man-  and  money  power.  Thru  this 
genial  co-operation  of  the  Boards  there  has  also 
been  brought  about  in  the  Churches  which  they 
represent  a  very  marked  increased  desire  to 
reach  all  the  Indians,  even  the  most  scattered 
and  neglected,  by  some  responsible  missionary 


356          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

agency.  There  are  twice  as  many  missionaries 
in  the  Indian  field  today  as  there  were  twenty- 
five  years  ago. 

No  less  than  eight  Protestant  denominations 
are  at  work  among  the  Navahoes  in  twenty-two 
stations.  The  types  of  work  are  evangelistic 
(camp  work),  educational  (four  Mission 
Schools),  medical  (six  hospitals  and  dispensa 
ries).  There  are  fifty-two  white  workers  and 
twenty-four  native,  (some  serving  part  time  as 
interpreters).  The  great  need  as  voiced  by  one 
missionary  is:  "man  power  and  equipment 
which  is  woefully  needed."  "It  is  estimated  that 
there  are  seven  thousand  and  five  hundred  Nav- 
aho  children,  of  school  age,  without  adequate 
school  facilities.  This  is  a  challenge  to  Chris 
tian  America,"  declared  Moffett.  The  above  fig 
ures,  gleaned  from  the  latest  Annual  Report  of 
the  Indian  Committee  of  the  Home  Missions 
Council,  may  be  correct,  we  have  no  way  to  dis 
prove  them,  but  we  are  rather  skeptical  when 
we  remember  that  we  as  a  Church,  working  in 
four  of  the  twenty-two  places,  have  twenty-one 
of  the  fifty-two  white  workers.  We  are  positive, 
however,  that  of  all  the  Missions  to  the  Navaho, 
there  is  no  station  better  manned  and  more  thor 
oughly  equipped  than  our  Rehoboth  Mission. 

In  our  estimation  there  are  at  least  two  things 
which  the  Home  Missions  Council  should  put 
forth  all  its  efforts,  thru  its  Indian  Committee,  to 
obtain.  In  the  first  place,  a  fulfillment  of  the 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO        357 

promise  by  our  Government  that  for  every  thirty 
children  a  teacher  would  be  provided,  so  that  it 
will  no  longer  be  true  that  thousands  are  grow 
ing  up  without  any  opportunity  for  schooling. 
In  the  second  place,  it  should  strive  to  get  na 
tional  legislation  against  the  peyote  evil.  This 
evil  is  assuming  such  proportions  that  it  is  most 
detrimental  to  the  health  and  morals  of  the  In 
dians  among  whom  it  is  introduced.  According 
to  Dr.  R.  W.  Roundy,  the  use  of  this  mescal  bean 
with  its  accompanying  hallucinations,  has  as 
sumed  religious  sanction  as  an  Indian  religion, 
with  an  incorporated  church  in  the  State  of 
Oklahoma.  One  or  two  .States  have  already 
passed  laws  prohibiting  the  use  of  this  deleter 
ious  drug.  Our  national  Government  should 
speedily  follow  the  same  course  if  it  is  to  con 
tinue  as  a  faithful  guardian  of  the  humanitarian 
interests  of  the  original  Americans.  You  who 
read  this  can  help  by  writing  to  your  Senators 
and  Representatives  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  urg 
ing  them  not  only  to  give  their  attention  to  this 
peyote  evil,  but  also  to  actively  support  the  ef 
fort  to  get  national  prohibition  in  this  matter. 

The  average  public  speakers,  and  conse 
quently  the  people  in  general,  have  and  foster 
the  idea  that  the  Indian  is  a  vanishing  race,  rap 
idly  disappearing  from  our  midst.  But  this  is 
not  true  according  to  the  reports  issued  by  our 
national  Census  Bureau.  These  reports  show  a 
steady  increase  during  the  last  three  or  four  dec- 


358          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

ades.  Also  the  Navahoes  and  Zunies,  among 
whom  we  as  a  Church  have  the  privilege  to  la 
bor,  are  continually  increasing  in  numbers.  The 
Navaho  today  is  numerically  the  largest  and 
strongest  tribe,  and  most  probably  also  of  all  In 
dians  the  most  in  need  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus. 
The  Zunies,  according  to  a  census  taken  by  our 
own  missionary,  have  increased  from  a  tribe  of 
sixteen  hundred  souls  to  a  little  more  than 
eighteen  hundred,  during  the  fifteen  years  that 
he  has  been  among  them.  Let  no  one  therefore 
attempt  to  belittle  or  to  cast  reflection  upon  In 
dian  Missions  by  designating  the  Indian,  as  is 
too  often  done  also  among  us,  a  vanishing  race. 

It  cannot  well  be  gainsaid  that  one  of  the 
greatest,  if  indeed  not  the  greatest  hindrances  to 
missionary  success  among  the  Indians  has  been 
the  notorious  and  scandalous  treatment  of  these 
aborigines  by  the  whites.  There  is  more  truth 
than  fiction  in  the  saying:  "When  the  white 
man  came  to  these  shores  he  first  fell  upon  his 
knees  and  then  upon  the  aborigines."  The  In 
dians'  own  point  of  view  regarding  this  matter 
may  be  gleaned  from  the  following  incident: 
"In  the  Capitol  at  Washington  are  four  histor 
ical  pictures  which  are  striking  object  lessons  of 
the  treatment  which  the  Indians  have  received. 
The  first  is  the  landing  of  the  white  men,  and  the 
Indians  offering  corn  to  them.  The  second  is 
the  signing  of  the  treaty  ceding  Pennsylvania  to 
the  white  man.  The  third  shows  Pocahontas  in 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        359 

the  act  of  defending  Captain  John  Smith.  The 
fourth  represents  an  engagement  between  the 
whites  and  the  Indians  in  which  the  latter  are 
being  killed.  An  Indian,  to  whom  the  Capitol 
was  being  shown,  stood  thoughtfully  before  the 
pictures  described,  and  summed  up  the  history 
of  his  people  in  a  few  simple  words:  'Indian 
give  white  man  corn.  Indian  give  white  man 
land.  Indian  save  white  man.  White  man  kill 
Indian'." 

"The  relation  of  the  United  States  Govern 
ment  to  the  Indian  has  been  divided  into  three 
periods:  the  COLONIAL,  the  NATIONAL,  and 
the  MODERN.  The  COLONIAL  period  was 
characterized  by  constant  wars,  bloodshed  and 
rapine.  The  fact  cannot  be  disguised  that  the 
most  bloody  Indian  wars  and  massacres  of  these 
days  were  inspired  by  the  whites  themselves. 
The  NATIONAL  period  of  the  Government's  re 
lation  to  the  Indian  has  been  called  'a  century 
of  dishonor.'  Peace  was  impossible  because  of 
the  insatiate  greed  of  the  settler  for  the  Indian's 
land.  Treaties  were  made,  but  utterly  disre 
garded  by  the  whites,  and  new  wars  would  re 
sult.  The  MODERN  period,  beginning  with  the 
first  term  of  President  Grant,  was  introduced  by 
The  Peace  Policy.'  President  Grant  advocated 
the  Indian's  civilization,  the  education  of  their 
children,  and  a  fulfillment  of  treaty  obligations. 
His  appeal  to  Christian  bodies  to  assist  in  their 
amelioration  led  to  the  organization  of  the  'In- 


360          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

dian  Rights  Association',  which  from  that  time 
unto  the  present  day  has  labored  in  behalf  of  the 
Indians.  The  'Women's  National  Indian  Asso 
ciation'  is  a  supplementary  body.  It  establishes 
missions  where  there  are  none,  and  turns  them 
over  to  Christian  denominations,  who  will  care 
for  them.  Since  The  Peace  Policy'  went  into  ef 
fect,  the  Department  of  the  Interior  at  Wash 
ington  has  charge  of  the  government  of  the  In 
dians.  The  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  is 
at  the  head  of  the  Indian  office,  which  is  a  bu 
reau  in  this  Department.  About  one-half  of  the 
Indians  today  are  on  Reservations — a  term  ap 
plied  to  the  land  set  apart  or  reserved  by  the 
Government  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Indians. 
These  Reservations  in  turn  are  in  charge  of  Gov 
ernment  Agents,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  previous 
Chapter.  The  Agents  are  responsible  to  the 
Commissioner  of  Indians,  who  is  appointed  by 
the  President  and  resides  in  Washington."  The 
present  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  is 
Charles  H.  Burke. 

Because  of  the  Indians'  feeling  toward  the 
white  man,  the  Missionary  coming  to  them  with 
the  Gospel  was  generally  met  with  a  sullen 
hatred.  But  if  we  consider  all  the  difficulties 
and  the  comparatively  small  number  of  Indians, 
missions  among  them  have  been  successful  be 
yond  what  might  have  been  expected.  And  if 
we  read  the  signs  aright,  we  believe  we  have  now 
entered  upon  a  new  era  of  Indian  Missions.  The 


IN       HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        361 

Indian  of  the  old  trail,  a  very  religious  being  in 
the  darkness  of  ignorance  and  superstition, 
clothed  in  war-paint  and  feathers,  armed  with 
tomahawk  and  scalping-knife,  and  with  bow  and 
arrow,  has  made  way  for  the  Indian  of  today 
just  entering  citizenship  thru  the  highway  of 
knowledge.  He  has  been  well-termed  "  a  bundle 
or  bristling  possibilities."  Great  is  the  respon 
sibility  of  the  Church  of  today,  to  get  him,  to 
hold_him,  to  use  him  in  the  service  of  the  King 
of  kings  and  the  Lord  of  lords. 

Twenty-six  different  Boards,  representing 
twenty-one  different  Protestant  denominations, 
are  facing  this  responsibility.  Partial  statistics 
show  that  there  are  established  Missions  in  over 
one  hundred  different  tribes  and  tribal  bands. 
There  are  some  six  hundred  and  forty-three  In 
dian  churches,  four  hundred  and  twenty-nine 
Protestant,  and  two  hundred  and  eight  Roman 
Catholic  missionaries.  Forty-four  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  thirty  Protestant  and  five  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-four  Catholic  church- 
going  Indians,  while  in  addition  to  these  there 
are  probably  some  seventy  thousand  adherents. 
The  actual  annual  expenses  for  all  Protestant 
work,  including  the  maintenance  of  twenty-five 
Mission  Schools,  with  an  enrollment  of  approxi 
mately  two  thousand  children,  is  less  than  a 
third  of  a  million  dollars. 

The  history  of  Indian  Misisons  is  a  story  of 
patient,  untiring  service,  and  of  unwearying  self- 


362          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

sacrifice.  The  recording  of  this  history  in  its 
details  is  a  work  still  to  be  accomplished  by 
some  lover  of  the  cause.  We  can  only  give  an 
incident  or  two,  with  the  hope  that  these  may 
stimulate  an  interest  to  search  for  more.  The 
heroes,  whose  names  are  best  known  to  us  and 
who  stand  in  the  forefront  are:  Roger  Wil 
liams,  John  Eliot,  David  and  John  Brainerd, 
Jonathan  Edwards,  Count  Zinzendorf,  Marcus 
Whitman,  Bishop  Whipple,  Bishop  Hare,  and 
many,  many  others  whom  we  should  mention, 
but  do  not  for  want  of  space.  Eliot's  monumen 
tal  work  is  the  Bible  in  the  Mohican,  the  first 
Bible  published  in  America  and  that  only  fifty 
years  after  the  publication  of  the  King  James 
version.  The  brief  ministry  of  David  Brainerd, 
five  years,  is  a  most  impressive  story  of  burning 
zeal  and  devotion,  and  written  as  it  is  by  Jona 
than  Edwards,  it  is  a  classic  of  missionary  and 
devotional  literature.  The  life  of  Marcus  Whit 
man  contains  four  outstanding  incidents  that 
should  be  known  to  every  one  interested  in  the 
subject  of  missions  among  the  Indians.  We  will 
simply  mention  the  incidents  and  ask  you  to  look 
them  up  and  read  them  in  any  authentic  biogra 
phy  of  this  man  of  God.  The  search  for  the  white 
man's  book  of  heaven.  The  double  wedding  jour 
ney  of  the  young  missionaries,  Marcus  Whitman 
and  H.  H.  Spalding,  and  their  brides  to  the  dis 
tant  Indian  country.  Whitman's  famous  ride  to 
Washington.  The  martyrdom  of  Whitman  and 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        363 

his  wife  in  the  massacre  of  1847.  Bishops 
Whipple  and  Hare  were  instrumental  in  estab 
lishing  and  wonderfully  developing  the  work  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Minnesota. 

If  anyone  today  speaking  of  Indian  Missions, 
thinks  only  of  the  work  among  the  three  hun 
dred  and  more  thousands  of  Indians  in  our  own 
land,  he  shows  thereby  that  he  has  not  the  vision 
that  he  should  have  as  a  believer  in  and  sup 
porter  of  this  cause.  The  millions  of  Indians  of 
Latin  America  are  the  real  field  for  Indian  mis 
sionary  activity.  The  greatest  stretch  of  un- 
evangelized  territory  in  the  whole  world  lies  in 
the  center  of  South  America,  including  the  in 
terior  of  Brazil,  Venezuela,  Colombia,  Ecuador, 
Peru,  Bolivia  and  Paraguay.  This  territory  is 
about  two  thousand  miles  long  and  from  five  to 
fifteen  hundred  miles  wide,  and  includes  but 
two  or  three  missionaries,  and  in  spite  of  the 
needs  as  great  as  in  China  or  Africa,  American 
Missionary  Boards  only  support  one  hospital  in 
the  whole  continent.  What  makes  the  oppor 
tunity  absolutely  unique  in  the  world's  mission 
ary  history  is  the  common  language,  the  com 
mon  religious  inheritances,  the  common  form  of 
government  and  the  common  problems  and 
ideals.  More  and  more  we  ought  to  be  able  to 
see  therefore  that  the  cause  of  Indian  Missions 
is  not  child's  play,  but  in  every  respect  a  man's 
job  and  worthy  of  the  very  best  talented  men 
that  our  Church  is  able  to  produce.  The  Train- 


364          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

ing  School  for  Native  leaders  should  be  a  school 
equipped  to  furnish  Missionaries  for  the  extend 
ing  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  among  the  millions 
of  Indians,  not  only  in  North,  but  also  in  Cen 
tral  and  in  South  America  as  well. 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        365 

THEY    WHO    HAVE    BEEN    OR    WHO    ARE 
STILL  IN  OUR  INDIAN  MISSION 
SERVICE 


The  Regular  Missionaries. 

*REV.    AND    MRS.    HERMAN    FRYLING,    Zuni,    New 

Mexico. 
MR.  AND  MRS.  ANDREW  VAN  DER  WAGEN,  Zuni, 

New  Mexico. 

MR.  AND  MRS.  JAMES  E.  DE  GROOT. 
*REV.  AND  MRS.  L.  P.  BRINK,  Toadlena,  New  Mexico. 
*REV.  AND  MRS.  J.  W.  BRINK,  Rehoboth,  New  Mexico. 
REV.  AND  MRS.  D.  H.  MUYSKENS. 
REV.  AND  MRS.  L.  S.  HUIZENGA,  M.  D. 
*REV.   AND   MRS.   JACOB    BOLT,    Crown   Point,   New 

Mexico. 

REV.  AND  MRS.  HERMAN  HEYNS. 
*MR.  AND  MRS.  MARK  BOUMA,  Tohatchi,  New  Mexico. 
*MR.   AND   MRS.   WILLIAM   MIEROP,   Rehoboth,   New 
Mexico. 

Other  Workers 

MISS  ALICE  AARDSMA  (Mrs.  Hoekstra). 
*MR.  AND  MRS.  HUDSON  BAINBRIDGE    (Navahoes), 
Toadlena,  New  Mexico  (Interpreter  and  Assistant). 
*MISS  NELLIE  BAKER,  Rehoboth,  New  Mexico  (House 
keeper-Cook). 
MISS  J.  BARTELS. 
MR.  EDWARD  BECENTI  (Navaho). 
*MISS     HATTIE     BEEKMAN,      Zuni,      New       Mexico, 

(Matron). 

*MR.    AND    MRS.    J.    H.    BOSSCHER,    Rehoboth,    New 
Mexico   (Manager). 


NOTE: — Those   marked  with   a    (*)    are   still  in  the 
service. 


366          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

MISS  ANNA  BOUMA. 

MISS  DENA  BRINK   (Mrs.  Van  der  Wagen). 

MISS  WINNIE  BOUMA. 

MR.  AND  MRS.  D.  BRUMMELER. 

*MISS   ALICE    BUSH,    Rehoboth,   New   Mexico    (Seam 
stress)  . 

MISS  MARY  DAS. 

*MR.  AND   MRS.  HUGH  DENITDELE,   Toadlena,  New 
Mexico   (Interpreter  and  Assistant)    [Navahoes]. 

MISS  NELLIE  DE  JONG. 

MISS  ANNA  DERKS   (Mrs.  Teusink). 

MISS  MARY  DE  RUITER. 

MISS  JOHANNA  DIELEMAN  (Mrs.  Van  den  Hoek). 

MISS  SUSANNA  DIELEMAN. 
*MISS  SOPHIA  FRYLING,  Zuni,  New  Mexico  (Teacher). 

MR.  AND  MRS.  NELSON  GORMAN   (Navahoes). 

MISS  COCIA  HARTOG   (Mrs.  Wezeman). 

MR.  CLAUDE  HAVEN   (Navaho). 

*MISS  ANNA  HAVINGA,  Rehoboth,  New  Mexico  (Laun 
dress)  . 

DR.  AND  MRS.  G.  HEUSINKVELD. 

MISS  CHRISTINE  HOOD    (Mrs.  Whipple)    [Navaho]. 

MR.  AND  MRS.  P.  HOOGEZAND. 

MISS  MAUDE  ROSTER. 
*MISS     JEANETTE     LAM,     Rehoboth,     New     Mexico 

(Nurse). 
*MISS  NELLIE  LAM,  Rehoboth,  New  Mexico  (Teacher). 

MISS  FANNY  LEYS  (Mrs.  Kett). 

DR.  AND  MRS.  C.  J.  K.  MOORE. 

MR.  AND  MRS.  J.  C.  MORGAN  (Navahoes). 
*DR.  AND  MRS.  J.  D.  MULDER,  Rehoboth,  New  Mexico. 
(In  charge  of  the  Medical  Department.) 

MISS  JANE  NYENHUIS. 

MISS  CLARISSA  PIERSON   (Mrs.  Jones)    [Navaho]. 


NOTE: — Those   marked   with   a    (*)    are   still   in   the 
service. 


IN      HOGAN      AND      PUEBLO        35? 

*MISS  CATHERINE  ROSBACH,  Rehoboth,  New  Mexico 

(Housekeeper-Cook) . 

MISS  BERTHA  ROSBACH    (Mrs.  Guichelaar). 
MR.  C.  SCHANS. 
*MISS     WINNIE     SCHOON,     Rehoboth,     New     Mexico 

(Clerk). 

MR.  AND  MRS.  JOHN  SCIJREUR. 
DR.  AND  MRS.  WILBUR  SIPE. 
MR.  AND  MRS.  JOHN  SPYKER. 

*MISS  RENZINA  STOB,  Rehoboth,  New  Mexico    (Prin 
cipal  and  Teacher). 
MISS  MARY  STYF. 

*MR.  JOHN  H.  SWETS,  Rehoboth,  New  Mexico   (Assis 
tant  to  the  Manager) . 
MISS  CARRIE  TEN  HOUTEN. 
MRS.  A.  VAN  BREE. 
MR.  M.  VAN  DER  BEEK. 
MISS  ANNA  VAN  DER  RIET. 
MR.  AND  MRS.  DERK  VAN  DER  WAGEN. 
*MISS   FANNIE   M.   VAN   DER   WAL,   Rehoboth,   New 

Mexico    (Hospital   Assistant). 
*MISS  M.   VAN  DER  WEIDE,   Rehoboth,   New  Mexico 

(Boys'  Matron). 
*MISS  JEANETTE  VAN  DER  WERP,   Rehoboth,  New 

Mexico   (Teacher). 
MISS  M.  VAN  DEURSEM. 
MISS  C.  VAN  KOEVERING. 
MR.  AND  MRS.  G.  M.  VAN  PERNIS. 
*MISS  C.  VAN  ZANTEN,  Rehoboth,  New  Mexico  (Girls' 

Matron). 

MISS  KATHRYN  VENNEMA   (Mrs.  Sikkema). 
MISS  ANNA  VEURINK. 
MISS  GERTRUDE  ZANDSTRA. 
*MR.  JOHN  SPRICK,  Zuni,  New  Mexico  (Assistant). 


NOTE: — Those   marked   with   a    (*)    are   still   in   the 
service. 


368          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 


SHARPENED  ARROW-HEADS 


The  total  number  of  Indians  in  the  United 
States  is  usually  estimated  to  be  approximately 
336,000.  There  are  more  than  150  tribal  bands 
and  clans,  all  speaking  different  languages  and 
dialects  and  are  scattered  on  147  Reservations 
and  in  different  communities. 


Rehoboth's  PROSPECTS  ARE,,  subject  to 
Divine  blessing,  VERY  GOOD.  He  who  blessed 
in  the  past,  in  more  ways  than  one,  will  do  so  in 
the  future.  Psalm  115:21.  Since  1903  several 
of  our  pupils  have  confessed  Christ  and  received 
baptism.  We  have  reason  to  believe  that  as 
time  goes  on  the  Gospel  will  show  itself  to  be 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  for  more  of 
them  as  well  as  adults  in  camps. — Rev.  J.  W. 
Brink. 


The  number  of  Indians  within  the  boun 
daries  of  the  United  States  since  the  time  of 
Columbus  was  never  so  great  as  it  is  today. — 
Major  C.  F.  Larrabee. 


The  Navaho  is  today  the  largest  tribe,  and 
they  are  anxious  to  have  their  children  educated. 
The  Government  promised  a  teacher  for  every 
thirty  children,  but  the  promise  has  not  been 


IN       HOG  AN       AND      PUEBLO        369 

kept.  At  the  present  time  there  are  more  than 
7,000  Navaho  children  who  have  no  opportunity 
whatever  for  schooling. 


"Redeeming  the  red  man  is  a  more  hopeful 
and  also  a  more  interesting  process  than  rifling 
him." 


"We  earnestly  express  as  our  conviction,  at 
tested  by  the  knowledge  of  our  respective  tribes 
and  our  several  personal  experiences,  that  the 
one  fundamental  need  of  the  Red  Men  is  Jesus 
Christ ;  that  the  Indian  race  will  achieve  greater 
glory  or  will  vanish  from  the  earth  according 
as  it  receives  or  rejects  Him;  that  in  Him  only  is 
to  be  found  that  power  that  saves  from  the  vices, 
greed,  gross  materialism,  and  selfishness  of 
modern  civilization,  and  that  leads  to  the  glory 
of  a  blameless  Indian  womanhood  and  man 
hood. 

"In  view  of  these  indisputable  facts,  we  bid 
every  Christian  student  to  stand  with  us  and  to 
take  heart  as  never  before.  We  call  upon  all 
Christian  agencies  working  in  Indian-student 
centers,  to  strengthen  their  hands  in  the  en 
deavor  to  lead  students  to  a  personal  knowl 
edge  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  foster  all  influences 
working  for  a  settlement  of  Indian  problems 
along  the  lines  of  Christian  statesmanship." — In 
dian  Delegates  to  a  Mohonk  Conference. 


370          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

The  greatest  factors  in  the  uplifting  of  the 
Indians  are  the  men  and  women  who  are  teach 
ing  the  Indians  to  become  Christian  citizens.— 
Theodore  Roosevelt. 


There  are  still  parts  of  the  Navaho  Reserva 
tion  where  Christ  Jesus  has  not  been  preached ! 
There  are  hundreds,  yes,  perhaps  thousands, 
who  are  on  this  Reservation  and  have  never 
heard  the  name  JESUS  mentioned!  Pause  a 
moment  and  think  on  that ! — William  Mierop. 


To  work  in  this  (Tohatchi)  section,  as  well 
as  on  other  parts  of  the  field,  will  mean  much 
traveling,  but  it  is  not  at  all  hopeless.  Work 
must  necessarily  go  slow.  The  Navaho  is  slow. 
The  Navaho  can  be  reached  and  the  Gospel 
brought  to  him,  and  this  is  our  duty.  To  reach 
all  is  a  possibility.  Trained  native  helpers,  as 
interpreters,  readers,  and  evangelists,  will 
greatly  aid  the  rapid  spread  of  the  Gospel  among 
them.  Caring  for  their  sick  will,  in  time,  we  ex 
pect,  become  valuable — Dr.  Lee  S.  Huizenga. 


In  prayer  lies  our  great  power.  It  is  not  so 
much  our  talking  to  men,  but  rather  our  talking 
to  God  about  men,  and  for  men,  that  will  turn 
men  to  God.  Let  us  not  think  too  highly  of  our 
power  to  persuade  men.  For  then  we  shall  ut 
terly  fail.  Only  the  voice  of  God  can  reach  men 
who  are  dead  in  sin. — Rev.  Jacob  Bolt. 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         371 

Prayer  and  pains,  thru  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, 
will  do  anything — John  Eliot. 


The  future  of  the  Navahoes  is  promising.  We 
firmly  believe  that  there  will  be  many,  many 
Christian  homes  before  another  decade.  God 
uses  means  and  we  must  apply  them  to  bring 
about  this  radical  change  in  Navaho  life. — 
Coda  Hartog. 


The  missionary  goes  to  do  a  spiritual  work; 
he  should  know  by  personal  experience  what  it 
is  to  be  under  the  sway  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
not  attempt  to  accomplish  the  work  of  God  in 
the  energy  of  the  flesh — Rev.  Henry  Beets,  LL.D. 


In  Zuni,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  we  can  ex 
pect  an  organized  Christian  congregation,  a 
Christian  nation,  because  the  people  live  to 
gether,  they  are  fully  able  to  support  themselves, 
and  they  are  a  willing  people  in  their  own  pagan 
worship,  and  when  converted,  we  may  reason 
ably  expect  them  to  be  the  same  in  following  the 
truth.  Let  us  not  forget  to  earnestly  pray  for 
them! — Rev.  Herman  Fryling. 


The  biggest  problem,  the  greatest  asset  for 
the  Christian  Church  if  she  can  and  will  get 
hold  of  them,  are  the  thousands  of  returned  stu 
dents  in  the  Indian  country. 


372          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

Toadlena  is  an  Indian  word  meaning  "Out 
flowing  Water."  Our  aim  and  prayer  is  that  the 
Missionary  and  his  helpers  may  be  such  as  those 
of  whom  the  Savior  said,  "From  the  midst  of 
them  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water."  That  we 
may  be  the  channels  thru  which  the  waters  of 
salvation  may  flow  to  those  who  are  dying  for 
lack  of  it.  And  may  the  Lord  speed  the  day 
when  the  Navahoes  in  turn  may  become  the 
bearers  of  the  Gospel  Message  to  others. — 'Rev. 
L.  P.  Brink. 


When  the  Indians  were  without  Christ,  it 
needed  a  standing  army  to  control  them.  This 
has  practically  passed  away.  In  this  way  the 
Missionaries  are  saving  our  Government  millions 
of  dollars.— Dr.  T.  C.  Moffett. 


The  American  Bible  .Society  has  published 
the  Scriptures  in  whole  or  in  part  in  twelve  In 
dian  languages,  including  large  portions  of  both 
Old  and  New  Testament  in  the  Navaho. 


Oh,  that  I  could  dedicate  my  all  to  God.  This 
is  all  the  return  I  can  make  Him. — David 
Brainerd. 


Forty-six  thousand  Indians  without  the  Gos 
pel!  Calls  for  repetition  of  the  Great  Commis 
sion. 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO        373 

The   QUESTION   OP   THE  HOUR  IN   ALL 
OUR  CHURCHES  has  been  well  put:- 

"To  pledge  or  not  to  pledge — that  is  the  question : 
Whether  'tis  nobler  in  a  man  to  take 
The  Gospel  free,  leave  other  men  to  foot  the  bill, 
Or  sign  a  pledge  and  pay  toward  the  church  expenses." 


The  fact  that- 

"Men  are  righteous,  men  are  bad, 
According  to  the  meal  they've  had," 

may  apply  to  spiritual  as  well  as  to  physical 
feeding.  It  might  be  a  good  principle  to  bear  in 
mind  wrhen  making  our  pledge  for  missionary 
work  for  a  new  year.  Not  a  (weakly)  but  a 
(weekly)  offering  should  be  made  for  the  ful 
filling  of  the  Great  Commission. 


I  will  go  down,  but  remember  that  you  must 
hold  the  ropes. — William  Carey. 


Immigrants  afflicted  with  trachoma  and  tu 
berculosis  are  promptly  deported.  These  are 
among  the  most  prevalent  diseases  of  the  Indian 
tribes.  Consequently  Christian  medical  service 
is  strongly  demanded. 


EXPECT  GREAT  THINGS  FROM  GOD ;  AT 
TEMPT  GREAT  THINGS  FOR  GOD. 


374          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 


GENERAL 

BEADLE,  J.  H.— "The  Undeveloped  West,  or  Five  Years 

in  the  Territories."     Cincinnati,  1873. 
BEADLE,  J.  H. — "Western    Wilds  and  the  Men  Who  Re 
deem  Them."     Cincinnati.     1878. 

(Two  of  the  most  interesting  books  of  travel  in  print.) 
CHAPIN,    FREDERICK    H.— "The    Land    of    the    Cliff 

Dwellers."     1892. 
COZZENS,   S.   W. — "The   Marvelous    Country,   or  Three 

Years  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico."     Boston.     1874. 
CURTIS,  EDWARD   S.— "The  North  American  Indian." 

20    vols.      Vol.    1,    "Indians    of    Arizona    and    New 

Mexico." 
GUSHING,  F.  H.— "Zuni  Folk  Tales."     G.  P.  Putnam's 

Sons.     1901. 
DIXON,  JOSEPH— "The  Vanishing  Race."     Doubleday, 

Page  &  Co.     1913. 

DORSY,  GEORGE  A.— "Indians  of  the  Southwest."  1903. 
FRANCISCAN      FATHERS— St.      Michaelis,      Arizona. 

"Vocabulary  of  the  Navaho  Language."     2  vols. 

"An    Ethnological    Dictionary    of    the   Navaho    Lan 
guage." 

"The  San  Franciscan  Missions  of  the  Southwest." 
HANDBOOK    OF    AMERICAN    INDIANS.      Bureau    of 

American  Ethnology.    Bulletin  No.  30.    2  vols.    1912. 
HUMPHREY,     SETH    K. — "The    Indian    Dispossessed." 

Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  Boston.     1905. 
JACKSON,     HELEN     H.— "A     Century     of     Dishonor." 

Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  Boston.     1885. 
JOHNSTON,  C.  H.  L. — "Famous  Indian  Chiefs."     L.  C. 

Page  &  Co.,  Boston.     1909. 
STARR,     FREDERICK — "American     Indians."      D.    C. 

Heath  &  Co.,  New  York.     1898. 
WINSHIP,  G.  P. — "The  Journey  of  Coronado,  the  First 

Explorer  of  the  West."     1904. 


IN       HOGAN       AND       PUEBLO         375 

GREGG,  JOSIAH — "Commerce  of  the  Prairies."  2  vols. 
1844. 

HIGGINS,  C.  A.— "To  California  and  Back." 
HIGGINS,    C.    A.— "To    California    Over   the    Santa    Fe 
Trail." 

JAMES,  GEORGE  WHARTON— "Indians  of  the  Painted 
Desert  Region."  1903. 

TWENTY-THIRD  ANNUAL  REPORT  OF  THE  BU 
REAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY.  1901-1902. 

ELLIS,  GEORGE  E.— "The  Red  Man  and  the  White." 

MISSIONS 

EDGERTON    R.    YOUNG— "On    the    Indian    Trail    and 

Other  Stories." 
F.  W.  CALKINS— "My  Host  the  Enemy  and  Other  Tales 

of  the  Northwest." 

HON.  FRANCIS  LEUPP — "In  Red  Man's  Land." 
REV.  GILBERT  L.  WILSON— "Good  Bird,  the  Indian." 
ROBERT    LAIRD    STEWART— "The    Life    of    Sheldon 

Jackson." 

JOHN  W.  ARCTANDER — "The  Apostle  of  Alaska." 
ELIZABETH  M.  PAGE — "In  Camp  and  Tepee." 
THOMAS  C.  MOFFETT — "The  American  Indian  on  the 

New  Trail." 

J.  M.  SHERWOOD — "Memoirs  of  Brainerd."  (The  stand 
ard  work  on  Brainerd.) 
WILLIAM  A.  MOWRY — "Marcus  Whitman."    (The  most 

complete  and  authentic  biography.) 

JOHN  T.  FARIS — "Winning  the  Oregon  Country."  1911. 
M.  G.  HUMPHREYS — "Missionary  Explorers  Among  the 

American  Indians."     1913. 
HORATIO   O.  LADD — "Chunda:     A  Story  of  the  Nav- 

ajos."     1906. 
BELLE  M.  BRAIN — "The  Redemption  of  the  Red  Man." 

1904. 
BARRETT — "Geronimo,  The  Story  of  My  Life." 


376          BRINGING       THE       GOSPEL 

PAMPHLETS 

THE  PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  HOME  MISSIONS— 
"The  American  Indian." 

BOARD  OF  HEATHEN  MISSIONS,  CHRISTIAN  RE 
FORMED  CHURCH— "Navaho  and  Zuni."  1914. 

BOARD  OF  HEATHEN  MISSIONS,  CHRISTIAN  RE 
FORMED  CHURCH— "Zuni  and  Navaho."  1918. 

COCIA  HARTOG— "Indian  Mission   Sketches." 

THOMAS  C.  MOFFETT— "Presbyterian  Work  for  the  In 
dian  Race  in  the  United  States." 

REV.  H.  WALKOTTEN— "De  Navaho  Indianen."  (Hol 
land  Language.) 

REV.  H.  WALKOTTEN— "De  Zuni  Indianen."  (Holland 
.  Language.) 

HOME  MISSIONS  COUNCIL  ANNUAL  REPORTS— 
"Reports  on  Indian  Missions." 

DR.  L.  S.  HUIZENGA — "De  Navaho  Indiaan." 

MAGAZINES  AND  PAPERS 

THE  INSTRUCTOR  FOR  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL— 
Mission  Department. 

"DE  HEIDENWERELD"— Missionary  Monthly. 

THE  MISSION  FIELD — Monthly.  Boards  of  the  Re 
formed  Church  in  America. 


